Some women victims of international human trafficking yesterday described the inhuman torture on them by foreigners, in association with repatriate Bangladeshis, while they were kept in war-torn Syria. Some of them claimed that they were continuously gangraped, and at one stage, they were seriously injured and had to be admitted to hospital.
Shabana Akter (name changed to hide identity), hailing from Patuakhali district, lived with her husband, a transport worker, in the city’s Koratitula area under the jurisdiction of Jatrabari police station. They have two minor children.
‘‘As my husband became a drug addict, we faced financial crisis. At one stage, I met Siraj Sikder, owner of Sikder Travels, through an agent. He later took me to Syria. Although I had been promised a job at a house in Lebanon, I was kept in a brothel in Syria,’’ she said.
Describing her horrific memories in Syria, the young lady continued: “There were many Bangladeshi young girls in the brothel who were forced into prostitution. I protested and
The victim continued to narrate her story: “When I was unable to be raped due to my physical condition, they tortured me in different ways. They used to beat me on my legs with iron rods and even apply electric shocks. When I became senseless, they sent me to a hospital. Doctors told them that two of my kidneys were damaged because of the torture. They advised them to immediately send me back to my country as I might die any time. Later, they sent me back to Bangladesh. My mother had earlier filed a case with Paltan police station in this connection.”
Shabana said: “After I returned to Dhaka, officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) took me to doctors, who too said  two of my kidneys were badly damaged. I cannot move about without the help of others. I had a dream to provide higher education to my children. But after returning from Syria without a single penny, I had to stop the education of my son and got him a job in a shop.”