The US sanction on RAB of Bangladesh along with 6 top officials was not very unexpected

According to the US department of State, widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse in Bangladesh by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)—as part of the Bangladeshi government’s war on drugs—threaten U.S. national security interests by undermining the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the economic prosperity of the people of Bangladesh.

The US Department of State also stated that RAB is a joint task force founded in 2004 and composed of members of the police, army, navy, air force, and border guards seconded to the RAB from their respective units. Its mandate includes internal security, intelligence gathering related to criminal activities, and government-directed investigations. NGOs have alleged that RAB and other Bangladeshi law enforcement are responsible for more than 600 disappearances since 2009, nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018, and torture. Some reports suggest these incidents target opposition party members, journalists, and human rights activists.

On December 10, 2021 RAB is designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being a foreign entity that is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.

Additionally, other seven individuals are designated by US Department of State pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being foreign persons who are or have been a leader or official of RAB, an entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to their tenure.

Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Director General, RAB, April 15, 2020 to present

Benazir Ahmed, former Director General, RAB, January 2015 to April 14, 2020

Khan Mohammad Azad, Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, March 16, 2021 to prese

Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, former Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, June 27, 2019 to March 16, 2021

Mohammad Jahangir Alam, former Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, September 17, 2018 to June 27, 2019

Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan, former Additional Director General (Operations), RAB, April 28, 2016 to September 17, 2018

For a long time, the US has been trying to make the RAB aware about the Leahy Law on gross violations of human rights (GVHR),

on June 05,2005 , P/E Counselor and RLA of the US embassy at Dhaka called on Col. Chowdhury Fazlur Bari, Additional Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), to present a box of books on legal matters (including the 2004 Country Human Rights Reports) as requested to PA by RAB’s librarian. During the one-hour meeting in RAB’s HQ near Dhaka airport, P/E counsellor recounted US Govt concerns about extra-judicial killings and the implications for Bangladesh, RAB, and army officers who serve in RAB of the Leahy amendment. Bari described the crossfire killings to us as a necessary, short-term expedient and Bari was appeared unaware of the Leahy amendment and its potential impact on army officers like himself.