Blindfolded, handcuffed and bundled out of his secret prison for the first time in eight years, Bangladeshi barrister Ahmad Bin Quasem held his breath and listened for the sound of a cocked pistol.
Instead, he was tossed from a car and into a muddy ditch on Dhaka's outskirts — alive, at liberty, and with no knowledge of the national upheaval that had prompted his abrupt release.
"That's the first time I got fresh air in eight years," Quasem, 40, told reporters. "I thought they were going to kill me."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.