MOHAMMAD JAMIL KHAN and TOUSIF KAIUM

After filing a case in 2020 accusing 14 people of trafficking his son to Libya and extorting money through torture, Mannan Munshi saw it move to trial and pass through years of hearings -- only to collapse before charges were framed.

Mannan, from Shariatpur, filed the case with Paltan Police Station on June 14, 2020. He alleged that Monir Howlader, a fellow resident living in Libya, had agreed over the phone to take his son Md Rakib to the North African country.

According to the complaint, Monir initially said no money would be needed. Later, he asked Mannan to give Tk 5,000 and Rakib’s passport to his cousin Mohosin for formalities. Mannan said he handed over both on April 4. Rakib’s journey was later processed through a travel agency in June 2019 without further payment at that stage.

Soon after Rakib reached Libya, he was captured, Mannan alleged.

“They confined my son in a torture cell and started torturing him for money,” he said in the FIR, adding that traffickers would play his son’s screams over the phone while demanding ransom.

Mannan said he sold houses and borrowed money to pay Tk 7.05 lakh in two instalments. The torture, however, continued.

He sought punishment for Monir, Mohosin, and others involved.

Police submitted the charge sheet on June 6, 2021, and the Anti-Human Trafficking Prevention Tribunal received the case on September 5. The court later fixed 21 dates for hearings and charge framing.

On February 11, 2024, the tribunal discharged the accused.

In its order, the tribunal noted allegations that Mohosin Howlader, Monir Hossain, Khokon Howlader, Saiful, Kabir, Shariful Islam Sharif, Jahangir Hossain Matubbar and others trafficked the victim to Libya with false job promises and later extorted money through torture.

However, Mannan and the victim’s mother Sohagi Begum later submitted affidavits of compromise and testified in court in support of them.

They said Rakib had gone to Libya through the accused but filed the case after losing contact with him. He later returned home after failing to secure a job and subsequently went to Malaysia.

They told the court they no longer had any complaint and had no objection to discharging the accused.

The tribunal said there were no grounds to frame charges under the Human Trafficking Prevention and Suppression Act, 2012, and released the accused.

The case reflects a broader pattern in Bangladesh, where trafficking cases often end in acquittal as victims or families, worn down by lengthy trials and financial strain, opt for compromise.

Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC’s migration and youth programme, said, “The desperation to leave Bangladesh through irregular routes remains high, while the state response has fallen short.”

He said many migrants are still willing to risk death at sea or detention abroad rather than return home, fuelling trafficking networks.

Official data show how rarely such cases end in conviction.

In 2020, courts disposed of 14 cases, 13 of which ended in acquittal, allowing 43 accused to walk free. In 2021, both disposed cases resulted in acquittal. In 2022, all 34 disposed-of cases ended in acquittal, according to home ministry data.

The number rose sharply in 2023, when 415 of 436 disposed cases ended in acquittal, clearing 1,617 accused people. In 2024, 342 of 363 disposed cases ended in acquittal, releasing 1,250 accused.

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