Fourthly, the ambassador further revealed that her office was never contacted by the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) when the latter issued clearances and smart cards to these victims. Why and how was the due procedure of checking the embassy's attestation not followed? BMET claimed it issued some clearances to those who filed applications to go as entrepreneurs. What mechanism does the agency have to assess the veracity of such applications before granting clearances? Fifth, it is interesting to recall that in mid-March this year after a raid, 80 passports were recovered from the Motijheel office of an alleged trafficking kingpin who preyed on aspirant migrants to Cambodia and Vietnam. Instead of being arrested and prosecuted, why was he let off the hook by paying a meagre fine of three lakh taka? Sixth, on April 24, 2016 in the BLAST versus Bangladesh case, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court upheld the judgment of the High Court, with some modifications, that under Section 54, no one should be kept in confinement for more than 15 days. Does the continued detention of the two groups of returnee migrants and trafficked survivors after the 15 day period not constitute a blatant disregard for the law? And finally, what moral authority do the authorities have in detaining the trafficking survivors and charging them for "tarnishing the image of the state", when one of the members of the parliament belonging to the ruling party is charged with running an organised trafficking syndicate to a Gulf state, and widely known masterminds of drug and human trafficking operate with complete impunity, some with political patronage? The above narrative clearly establishes that returnees from Vietnam are survivors of trafficking. Detaining them under flimsy grounds is a gross injustice. Instead of wasting resources by pursuing this charade, the authorities would be better advised to immediately and unconditionally release them, and identify the real perpetrators of labour trafficking and hold them accountable. Such acts will not only protect those who chase their dream to migrate but will also be a huge boost to the much touted "image of the country".   C R Abrar is an academic with interest in human rights and migration. He acknowledges reporting support of Porimol Palma (The Daily Star), Niloy Mohiduddin (Prothom Alo) and Owasimuddin Bhuiya (New Age). Stay updated on the go with The Daily Star Android & iOS News App. Click here to download it for your device.  TOP