It Will Take Time to Lift the Ban on RAB : Momen

Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen said a long process would be needed to lift US sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and its former and current officers.

He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on Monday (April 4th).

For the first time since the Biden administration came to power in the United States, Dr. Momen has held bilateral meetings with Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken. The meeting was held at the US Department of State yesterday on the golden jubilee of Dhaka-Washington diplomatic relations. An important point raised by Bangladesh in the agenda of the meeting was the lifting of sanctions on RAB.

During the meeting, Momen highlighted the progress of the work of the elite force in the next four months after the formation and banning of RAB.

The foreign minister said, "I said, your ambassador Moriarty said, RAB is the FBI of Bangladesh. Banning the elite force would discourage many youths from working there. We would be very happy if you could reconsider. "

Regarding what Foreign Minister Blinken said in response, Momen said he said it has a process, would be in that process. But we need accountability. We are very clear about this.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on seven RAB officers, including former RAB director general and current police Chief Benazir Ahmed, on December 10 last year for "grave" human rights abuses.