DHAKA, Bangladesh

Bangladesh slammed the US for imposing sanctions on current top and former police officials, including its chief on allegations of breaching human rights, official sources said Saturday.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen summoned the US envoy Earl Miller and conveyed discontent of the nation for the sanctions, terming it as one-sided “without any prior intimation.”

The US on Friday imposed human rights abuse-related sanctions on the incumbent Inspector General of Bangladesh Police Benazir Ahmed and six current and former officials of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), including Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

“The decision was taken unilaterally by the US Administration without any prior consultation with the Government of Bangladesh,” said a Foreign Ministry statement that quoted Momen.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), however, clarified the sanctions and said: “Widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse in Bangladesh by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) - as part of the Bangladeshi government’s war on drugs - threaten U.S. national security interests by undermining the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the economic prosperity of the people of Bangladesh.”

“RAB and other Bangladeshi law enforcement [agencies] are responsible for more than 600 [enforced] disappearances since 2009, nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018, and torture,” according to the statement, citing reports in the media, rights organizations, and NGOs.

“Some reports suggest these incidents target opposition party members, journalists, and human rights activists,” it noted.

RAB is a joint task force founded in 2004 and composed of members of the police, army, navy, air force and border guards with the mandate to work for internal security, intelligence gathering related to criminal activities and government-directed investigations.

Underlining the force as a forefront to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and other crimes, Momen accused the US of undermining a government agency.

Referring to US concerns, he added that “the allegations made against RAB over certain specific incidents had been explained, along with information on the corresponding justice and accountability measures undertaken, to not just to the US Administration but also to a number of UN human rights mechanisms on multiple occasions.”

“The US decision appeared to have been based more on unverified or unsubstantiated allegations of command responsibility than on the facts,” said Momen.

Meanwhile, the US envoy took note of the concerns and assured he would convey them to concerned authorities in his country.

Momen's brother, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, said the sanctions were “very unfortunate” and “not fact-based,” and urged American authorities to make a “solid fact-based response."

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal added that the police never intentionally fire against anyone or commit crossfire. "Such incidents take place in almost all countries," he said.

The director of the legal and media wing of the elite force, Commander Khandakar Al Moin, told Anadolu Agency that the US allegations were not fact-based because they convicted the agency without minimum consultation with Bangladesh.