Anisur Rahman’s body repatriated back to Bangladesh

The body of 24-year-old Anisur Rahman was being repatriated to his native Bangladesh on Wednesday, according to the Honourary Consulate of Bangladesh, Roupen Paul Kalaydjian.

Rahman died on April 10, during a police immigration raid in his Limassol home. Under circumstances that are still being investigated, Rahman fell to his death as he tried to escape from the fifth-floor apartment.

A total of 11 people were crammed into the apartment, which was in a dangerous listed building. All of the individuals were detained but for Rahman, and a 22-year-old Bangladeshi national who was hospitalised after he too tried to escape from the window.

Rahman’s death sparked a wave of protests in Limassol and Nicosia, decrying the racism that many third-country nationals face in Cyprus.

Kalaydjian told the Cyprus Mail Rahman’s body would be repatriated to his family in Bangladesh within the day. The expenses are covered by the Bangladesh government, through the embassy in Beirut, he specified.

A police report into the circumstances of Rahman’s death has also been handed over to the Honourary Consulate. It is consistent with the police’s version of events so far, Kalaydjian said.

Officers have maintained they followed the letter of the law in the way the raid was carried out. Police have repeatedly stressed officers received consent from the tenants before entering the apartment.

This comes at odds with testimony which has emerged from Bangladeshi nationals who witnessed the events, that claimed police broke down the door and abused them.

Ombudswoman Maria Stylianou Lottides has begun an independent investigation into the circumstances behind Rahman’s death.

Lottides said her investigation will centre around whether the police followed due procedures and if any human rights were violated.

Kisa NGO has filed a complaint to the independent authority investigating police officers challenging the official narrative from the force.

Kalaydjian said they will now be waiting for the findings of the ombudswoman’s probe into Rahman’s death.

Police have yet to break their silence over the landlord who rented out the apartment – which is listed as a dangerous building.

Kalaydjian added a delegation of the Embassy of Bangladesh in Beirut including Ambassador Javed Tanveer Khan, First Secretary Mohammad Anwar Hossain and counsellor Baky Billah, were in Cyprus between April 26-29, offering consular services for Bangladeshi nationals living in Cyprus.

The services included issuing e-passports and renewing existing passports. Most Bangladeshi nationals work in various sectors of Cyprus’ economy such as tourism and hospitality, or are students, he specified.