Teknaf, Bangladesh: Police personnel from the Nayapara camp outpost arrested a refugee yesterday. The man, Mohamed Ismail (27), son of Abul Fayaz, was accused of committing a robbery in the camp, said a refugee leader on condition of anonymity.
The camp leader offered that the man was innocent and that the arrest was a deliberate reprisal against him.
He said, “Ismail helped a woman, Senuwara Begum, file a case at the Teknaf Police Station against local thugs on September 30, for a theft that occurred at her residence in the same camp. The thugs, together with camp police, fabricated the accusation against Ismail.”
Ismail was arrested by Inspector Nurul Islam and Nayapara camp police and taken to Teknaf Police Station where he was detained.
However, on November 30 he was remanded to Cox’s Bazar jail where he will face trial, according to his father.
Some refugees of Natyapara camp have moved to another camp, Kutupalong, as they also helped Senuwara and feared they would be targeted as well.
An older refugee observed, “The man is innocent. Many times, the authorities falsely accuse refugees. This is done to harass them and to extort money.”
