Report: Human Trafficking & Recruitment of Bangladeshi Men

Fortify Rights and Truth Hounds Launch Joint Report on the Human Trafficking and Recruitment of Bangladeshi Men into the Russian Army in Ukraine

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Fortify Rights and Truth Hounds will launch a new report during a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on March 3, 2026 at Drik Gallery in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The report exposes the use of deception and coercion to recruit Bangladeshi men into the Russian Armed Forces—practices that may constitute human trafficking.

Drawing on interviews with survivors, families of those killed, anti-trafficking police, and prisoners of war, the report entitled, “I Was Tricked into the War”: The Risk of Human Trafficking and Coerced Recruitment of Bangladeshi Men into Russia’s War in Ukraine, details how Bangladeshi men are promised civilian jobs abroad—often in Europe—only to be transported to Russia, pressured into signing Russian-language contracts, and deployed to frontline combat positions. Survivors recount paying large sums of money to brokers, having their documents confiscated, and being told they had been “bought” to fight. The report also documents how some recruits, including in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, knowingly sign up to join the Russian military to be mercenaries experienced subsequent mistreatment by members of the Russian military who beat them, confiscated their personal belongings, and threatened them.

The new government of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, should prioritize ending human trafficking and coerced recruitment of Bangladeshi men into the Russian Armed Forces by dismantling trafficking networks, holding perpetrators accountable, providing meaningful support to survivors and their families, and publicly condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The press conference to launch the new report, which will be available in English and Bangla languages—is open to the public and free of charge and will include speakers from Fortify Rights and Truth Hounds.

Featured speakers will be:

• Oksana Pokalchuk, Co-Executive Director, Truth Hounds

• Maria Tomak, Engaged Researcher, Truth Hounds 

• Tanbirul Miraj Ripon, Journalist and Researcher

• Amy Smith, Executive Director, Fortify Rights

• John Quinley, Director, Fortify Rights

  
  

Moderator:

• Saiful Huq Omi, photographer and member of Fortify Rights’s Leadership Council

Where:

Drik Gallery, Level 2

Drikpath Bhobon, 16 Sukrabad, Panthapath, Dhaka-1207

When:

Thursday, March 3, 2026, 10:30 a.m. Dhaka time

About Fortify Rights and Truth Hounds:

Truth Hounds works to ensure justice for victims of international crimes committed in the context of armed conflicts and to prevent such violations in the future. Since 2014, the organization has been documenting and investigating international crimes and other serious human rights abuses in Ukraine and across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Fortify Rights is an award-winning team of human rights defenders working to ensure human rights for all. We investigate violations, engage people with power on solutions, and strengthen human rights defenders. We believe in the influence of evidence-based research, the power of strategic truth-telling, and the importance of working in close collaboration with individuals, communities, and movements pushing for change. Fortify Rights is an independent nonprofit organization registered in the United States and Switzerland.

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