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A man jailed for eight years by the government of former Bangladeshi ruler Sheikh Hasina said police in Dhaka raided his home after British reporters asked his nephew, UK city minister Tulip Siddiq, about his plight.
Mir Ahmad bin Quasem told the Financial Times that security staff had told his wife to “sit down” and stop broadcasting in the hours before Channel 4 News aired footage of its reporters questioning Siddiq.
“Confronting Tulip on this matter obviously struck a chord somewhere in the Sheikh dynasty,” said Quasem, who was held in a secret Bangladeshi prison without trial between 2016 and 2024. in control.”
Journalists from Channel 4 News went to Siddiq in London on Saturday morning 25 November 2017, suggesting that “with one phone call you can make a big difference” to Quasem, who has Bangladeshi nationality.
The controversial footage – in which Siddiq warned reporters against claiming to be a Bangladeshi politician, saying “be very careful what you say, I'm a member of the British Parliament” – was broadcast three days later on the evening of 28 November.
Hours before the broadcast, security personnel, including members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a Bangladeshi police unit widely accused of human rights abuses, surrounded the family's home, according to Quasem.
About a dozen armed men entered the house, Quasem said, seeking contact information for his wife overseas. He added: “It was like they were hunting a terrorist.”
Quasem was first arrested in 2016 while working in the legal team of his father, a leader of an Islamist group in Bangladesh. His release on August 6 last year came less than 24 hours after Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League government removed from power.
Trained as a lawyer in Britain, he was one of hundreds incarcerated in the notorious “House of Mirrors” prison, known by that name because inmates reported being alone for years. Describing his detention as “worse than death”, Quasem said he was handcuffed and deprived of sunlight.
Michael Polok, Quasem's UK-based lawyer, said he believed the attack was an attempt to pressure Quasem's family into pressuring Channel 4 News not to air the video.
“Here you have a member of parliament being properly questioned about something and this is causing threats from a security agency known to disappear, torture and kill people,” said Polok.
FT closed last week that Siddiq owns a property in London that he acquired free of charge from a developer linked to the Awami League.
The Labor MP for Hampstead and Highgate has lived in properties linked to party figures, including his current home in East Finchley.
Siddiq, who was appointed as the City minister last year, on Monday he addressed himself to the government adviser on the standards of the ministers in his clothing, saying “he has done nothing wrong”.
The Bangladesh Criminal Court on Monday issued arrest warrants for Sheikh Hasina and 11 of her top officials for their alleged role in the disappearance.
Siddiq's aunt was directly involved in the forced disappearance of thousands of people, according to the first report published last month by a new commission of inquiry set up by Bangladesh's transitional government.
Siddiq, who is responsible for fighting money laundering in the UK, was named in the investigation last month by the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission.
The investigation came after Sheikh Hasina's political rival accused her relatives, including Siddiq, of taking action on a Russian-backed nuclear power project.
Sheikh Hasina's family has been accused of siphoning money from Bangladesh's banking system. They denied the claims.
Sajeeb Wazed, Sheikh Hasina's son and advisor, told Reuters last month: “It is not possible to withdraw billions from the $10 billion project (nuclear deal). We also do not have any offshore accounts. I have lived in the US for 30 years, my aunt and cousins in the UK for the same period. We obviously have accounts here, but none of us have seen that kind of money.”
RAB, which was placed under US sanctions in 2021 for its role in extrajudicial killings and disappearances, came under new leadership after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government. A new law is being drafted to govern its implementation.
Quasem, who said his time in prison had left him “mentally weak and mentally disturbed”, called on UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “reconsider whether he (Siddiq) is fit for the responsibility he has been given”.
Siddiq apologized following the broadcast of a Channel 4 news report about his behavior towards one of the programme's journalists.
The FT contacted Siddiq and the Labor Party for comment. Siddiq did not respond to a request and the Worker declined to comment.
A friend of Siddiq said Quasem was not a British citizen but wrote to the Foreign Office in December 2017 to make his case after being asked to do so by voters, in line with “correct protocol” for a county MP.