'They beat me for six months without talking'

Moshiur Rahman says he was tortured in Bangladesh for several months and is still feeling the effects

Moshiur Rahman winces as he limps to the table, joining his wife and young son for afternoon tea in their east London apartment.

The pain in his leg joints serves as a daily reminder of the abuse he says he suffered because of his links to the main opposition party in Bangladesh.

Mr Rahman, who had moved to Barking from Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka, says he was seized at an airport and then tortured, while on what was supposed to be a short visit to his home country in 2015.

Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it "vehemently" denied a role in any crackdowns of any party members.

Mr Rahman says he was blindfolded for days, strung from a ceiling with his hands tied, sporadically attacked and threatened with execution at a location unknown to him.

He said it was over his links over several years with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

"They beat me over my whole body for six months without talking," he says.

"The pain was unbearable. I thought they'd take me and kill me. And all I could think of was my son and daughter and wife will never know that I've been killed."

Mr Rahman says he struggles to walk due to the effects of being tortured for several months

Moshiur, pictured with his wife and then baby daughter in Dhaka, moved from Bangladesh to London

Released under strict conditions, he was unable to leave Bangladesh until 2022, when he was eventually reunited with family in London after his wife successfully claimed asylum.

He remains unable to work, due to the pain he suffers.

The BBC has seen documentation from his local health trust outlining the health effects, mental and physical, of the abuse he suffered.

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