Bangladesh arrests two suspected of sending jobseekers into Russian military service

Bangladesh has detained Mizanur Rahman and Abu Taher on suspicion of human trafficking. A specialist police unit alleges that citizens were promised construction jobs in Russia but were sent into military service after arriving.

Unit commander Mohammad Asaduzzaman said Rahman was linked to Jabal-e-Noor International. Preliminary findings linked three companies to the recruitment. The case followed a complaint from the father of a man who returned to Bangladesh.

The Daily Observer, reporting a police press conference, said the recruits' passports and phones were allegedly confiscated before they were handed to the military. The unit also alleged that twenty of the thirty people sent to the front had died. Police attributed those claims to their preliminary investigation.

On June 1, Bangladesh's Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment revoked the licences of RS International, Jabal-e-Noor and TS Overseas Ltd and confiscated their security deposits. The action followed allegations of citizens being sent to the war zone through false employment promises.

On July 9, Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury told parliament that diplomatic efforts were under way to bring workers home. He said the government had acted after reports that citizens were being compelled to train for combat.

Police are continuing to search for other suspected network members and establish the circumstances of the workers' recruitment to Russia.