Indeed, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told The Guardian, “The only employment option for the Rohingya [on Bhasan Char] is fishing.” 160 But Mohammad Taher told Human Rights Watch that he was detained by Navy officers for trying to fish and was punished. He said: I spent 7,000 taka [US$82] on this fishing net. One day when I went to fish, I was detained by some navy personnel. They punished me by making me do sit-ups holding my ears, made me promise not to go fishing, and only then they allowed me to come back home. I used to get 1 kilogram of fish with this net after fishing for two hours. I am not going fishing anymore as they threatened to take away my fishing net. Now they are putting up the pillars for fencing, so we will not be able to move out, not even for fishing. 161 A press release from the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said that a group of 10 heads of missions from Turkey, the EU, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands visited Bhasan Char on April 3, and that while they were there the representatives “visited several capacity-building projects such as sewing and handicrafts making.” 162 But refugees told Human Rights Watch that these activities were only made available for 25 refugees for a short period. One of the refugees involved in the activities, Sonjida, explained, “They just arranged these activities with a few Rohingya to showcase to the visiting delegates and there is no way we can deny their orders.” 163 Abuses by Security Forces Refugees on Bhasan Char and their families in Cox’s Bazar recounted a number of incidents in which security forces have beaten the refugees or arbitrarily detained them. The worst abuses we documented were of Rohingya rescued at sea and taken to Bhasan Char starting in May 2020 but our interviews with Rohingya transferred more recently from 160 Sarah Marsh, “Bangladesh Prepares to Move Rohingya to Island at Risk of Floods and Cyclones,” The Guardian, July 19, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/19/bangladesh-prepares-to-move-rohingya-to-island-atrisk-of-floods-and-cyclones (accessed April 27, 2021). 161 Human Rights Watch interview with Mohammad Taher, Bhasan Char, Bangladesh, February 25, 2021. 162 Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, press release, April 3, 2021, on file with Human Rights Watch. 163 Human Rights Watch interview with Sonjida, Bhasan Char, Bangladesh, March 30, 2021. “AN ISLAND JAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA” 48