‘They didn’t even let me drop off the milk for my child’
Firoz Mahmud Hasan
Labour leader
Detention: Jun 30, 2022 to Jul 6, 2022
After years-long legal battles, all 110 cases against Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and his organisation Grameen Telecom over alleged labour law violations were dropped by union workers and employees on May 23, 2022, following a settlement regarding payment claims.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Around a month later, on June 30, Grameen Telecom Workers' Union General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, 44, was picked up by plainclothes men.
"I couldn't tell day from night. I didn't even hear the call to prayer. I could only tell it was morning when they brought breakfast on a melamine plate."
He was then taken to the infamous "Aynaghar", a secret detention facility, where he was subjected to torture in an attempt to force him to make a statement against Prof Yunus and Grameen Telecom authorities.
This is the story of his abduction, his experience in "Aynaghar", and his eventual release.
HOW HE WAS PICKED UP
It was around 10:30pm on June 30, 2022. Firoz, along with his wife and children, had just sat down for dinner when they realised they were out of milk for their one-and-a-half-year-old child. So, Firoz left his dinner and went to buy some at a shop close to his home in Mirpur's ECB Chottor.
On his way home, 10-15 masked men stopped him and asked for his identity. They took his mobile phones and forced him to go with them.
They didn't even let him drop off the milk for his child. He was quickly blindfolded and taken away on a microbus.
"I couldn't tell day from night. I didn't even hear the call to prayer. I could only tell it was morning when they brought me breakfast."
Hours later, Firoz found himself in a detention centre, which he was unaware at the time was the infamous "Aynaghar."
There, he was tortured, both physically and mentally, and threatened with the same treatment for his family if he did not comply with their request.
His captors wanted Firoz to record a statement claiming that union leaders accepted money from Grameen Telecom officials to convince workers to drop their cases.
When Firoz revealed his harrowing experience at the "Aynaghar" to The Daily Star on Monday, he said he could not open up until now for fear of reprisals and only found his voice after the Hasina-led government fell on August 5.
'HOUSE OF MIRRORS'
After Firoz was brought to his cell at the "Aynaghar", his blindfolds were removed.
His cell was very narrow. It was 3 feet wide and 6-7 feet long. Concrete walls surrounded him on three sides, and a locked iron gate led to a corridor.
"The cell was empty except for a light bulb, a fan, a water bottle, and a blanket."
Firoz said no light, sound, or air from outside reached his cell.
"The bulb was always on, and there were fans outside my cell, which were very loud. Whenever I needed to use the toilet, I had to raise my hand, and a guard would arrive. I assume they monitored me 24 hours through CCTV."
The only time he didn't have a blindfold on was when he went to the toilet and when he was inside his cell.
"I couldn't tell day from night. I didn't even hear the azaan (call to prayer). I could only tell it was morning when they brought me breakfast."
THE TORTURE
Firoz was subjected to intense interrogation and physical and mental torture.
"They beat me badly with sticks from my waist down and tortured me with electric shocks, strapping me to a steel chair and tying my hands."
They threatened that if he didn't comply with their request, his family members would be picked up and tortured as well.
"I kept thinking I would be killed any day or never see my family again."
HANDOVER TO COPS
After seven days of torture, Firoz was handed over to the DMP's Detective Branch (DB) in the early hours of July 6.
There, he came across his colleague Kamruzzaman, the union president, who had also remained in detention during the same period as Firoz and underwent similar experiences.
The two were then shown arrested in a case filed over allegations of fraud and embezzlement by another union leader and subsequently placed on remand for seven days.
During the 7-day interrogation, Firoz and Kamruzzaman were forced to memorise a script, intended to serve as their confessional statement.
"A copy of the text was submitted to the court, which recorded it as my confessional statement."
Every time his lawyer requested bail in court, the court rejected it.
He was finally granted bail in April 2023 after spending nine months in jail. Even then, he continued to feel a lingering sense of insecurity and anxiety.
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