Human Trafficking: Investigate MP Shahid for links

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has urged the Anti-Corruption Commission and parliament to conduct an immediate and effective investigation into the involvement of Laxmipur lawmaker Mohammad Shahid Islam in human trafficking and money laundering.

It also called for strong legal action in this regard to protect the prestige of the parliament.

The anti-graft watchdog came up with the demands in a press release issued yesterday.

TIB termed Shahid's involvement in such illegal activities a shameful instance of criminalisation in the politics of Bangladesh.

The organisation also claimed that they didn't find any credible information which indicates that the government, the parliament, the ACC, financial intelligence unit, national board of revenue and the law enforcement agencies took this matter seriously enough in the beginning.

"On the contrary, there were signs which indicated that the government offices tried to protect the lawmaker," reads the press release.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB, said, "When Kuwaiti media reported about his [Shahid's] involvement in crimes like human trafficking, Bangladesh's ambassador to Kuwait conducted a so-called investigation and termed those reports 'baseless'.

"And, our government, the ACC and all the related government offices comfortably remained confident of that investigation. The national parliament also did not take any measures in this regard."

He also mentioned that the government's indifference to a matter that involves the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Bangladeshi workers is shameful and alarming at the same time.

According to the press release, TIB thinks that the government of Bangladesh should have started an investigation against the allegation instead of waiting for official communication from the Kuwaiti government.

"Thousands of workers who have been trafficked to Kuwait in the name of employment are the citizens of Bangladesh. Those who were held hostage and forced to pay ransoms to the traffickers are also the citizens of Bangladesh. There is no doubt that an organised network of human traffickers, with the involvement of government high-ups, was formed in Bangladesh," he said.

The chain of events make it clear that the government had never been willing to conduct any fair investigation and that an influential quarter is also involved in these criminal activities,  Dr Iftekharuzzaman adds.

According to previous reports published in The Daily Star, Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul, independent lawmaker from Laxmipur-2 was arrested by Kuwait's Criminal Investigation Department on June 6 over human trafficking and money laundering.

Papul and a Kuwaiti citizen co-own a big recruitment company named Marafie Kuwaitia.

He is accused of charging each foreign worker, mostly from Bangladesh, up to 3,000 dinars in exchange for going to Kuwait.

The workers also paid huge sums to the company in exchange for renewing their residency every year. The lawmaker is currently under the custody of Kuwait's CID.