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BANGLADESH: Two men arbitrarily detained and tortured by police to elicit bribes

May 14, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-049-2009



15 May 2009
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BANGLADESH: Two men arbitrarily detained and tortured by police to elicit bribes

ISSUES: Torture; right to liberty and security; illegal detention; rule of law

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NEW RELATED REPORTS:

Use of Police Powers for Profit:
Disconnected policing and the justice trade in Bangladesh
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two men were detained for four days by the police without charge or legal record, and beaten severely each day to elicit bribes. The men were then confronted with fabricated charges and released only after they paid large fines. The debt has caused one man to sell his rickshaw--his livelihood--and another to pull his children from school to work with him and his wife in a brickfield. No attempt has been made by the local authorities to investigate the case.

CASE DETAILS: (According to the victims, their family members and witnesses within the police station)

When the house of the Shikdar family was burgled in September 2007 (Takia village, Khulna district), Mrs. Zohra Shikdar suspected her neighbours for the theft. Some money, a VCD player and a black and white television had been taken. Both men—rickshaw pullers Mr. Monirul Islam and Mr. Shahidul Islam—strongly denied the theft but the households fought over the issue for a year.

When Roustam, the son of Zohra and Sohrab Shikdar, lodged a complaint and submitted a written petition at the Paikgachha police station, he was told to pay Taka 10,000 (aprox. US$145) by police officers, including Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mr. Ali Hashem Khan and Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Ayub Ali. The SI was assigned to deal with the matter off the record. Despite requesting and receiving a second bribe of (Taka 4,500) the SI did not officially register the petition.

Ayub Ali summoned Shahidul Islam to the police station on 2 November 2008, where he was held without any legal basis. At around 8:30 that night the police kicked down Monirul Islam’s front door, verbally abused and handcuffed him, before taking him to the station by motorbike and holding him there, once again, with no registered case or legal grounds. Both men were held in the station for four days.

Each day the officers--including SI Ayub--would take the men into another room, tie a rope around their waists and beat them with a bamboo stick for about half an hour. The men sustained injuries on the soles of their feet, their knee joints, elbow joints and backs. They were also squeezed between bamboo poles in a method of torture known locally as 'banshcall' and 'banshadala' and common in police stations through the country. Other detainees in the station--including human rights defenders Mr. F. M. Abdur Razzak and Mr. Shankar Kumar Dhali (also in detention under fabricated charges, please see case UP-034-2007) witnessed Monir bleeding from his right foot, his knee and right elbow, heard the men shouting, and saw them crying from pain after the torture. Before these sessions began the men were asked for a bribe, which they couldn’t pay. The sessions ended with the threat that the beatings would continue unless they paid up.

The police sent news of the torture to the men’s families with demands for money. Monir's mother borrowed 2,000 Taka (about US$29) and paid it to the police on November 6. Later the same day SI Ayub produced both men before the Senior Judicial Magistrate's Court of Paikgachha. The police presented a fabricated a case against Monir and Shahidul under Section 34 of the Police Act-1861, claiming that they had been found shouting in the street near the Magistrate’s Court the night before. The Police Act allows the arrest of people for petty offences like littering without any prior direction from any magistrate. The complaint was recorded as a Non-GR (Government Record) Case No. 193/08 on 6 November 2008.

The officers had told both men to confess to the offence if they wanted to be released quickly, and Monir and Shafidul's lawyer agreed. There was no record of the men’s detention in custody for four days or of Roustam Shikdar’s original complaint.

With no stretch of the imagination does this series of events resemble law enforcement. No criminal procedure was followed, no legal codes observed and no complaint was registered. The officers involved have instead acted above and outside of the law, meting out systematic extra judicial violence and extorting money from both the complainant and the accused, all of whom are extremely poor. The incident severely violates the constitutionally enshrined fundamental rights in Article 33 (2) as well as Section 61 of Bangladesh’s Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and is a clear and unconscionable abuse of power. Unfortunately it is one that is assisted on every level, from the police, to the men’s lawyer and the judiciary. In other words, the policing system at Paikgachha is simply criminal.


ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

In order to pay the bribery money to the police, the lawyer’s expenses, the fine and the medical expenses, Monir’s family were forced to sell land. Shahidul's relatives borrowed money at 10 per cent interest per month. Both victims are suffering from physical and psychological problems as a result of the torture, social stigmatization and financial hardship.

Monir says that he used to earn around Taka 150 (US$ 2.17) per day as a rickshaw driver, with which he supported a family of five and kept his two children in school. He can’t any longer. 'How could I imagine paying bribe to a police officer when we cannot even afford our meals of a day?' he asked. 'Now, I have to work at a brickfield along with my wife and two children, who are minors. I cannot afford the cost of the education for my 13-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, who now work with me at the brickfield.' Brickfield work involves manually making bricks from mud and clay.

Shahidul now works as a labourer at a nursery to earn Taka 60.00 per day. He had to sell his rickshaw to afford the repayments of his debts and arrange medical treatment

The petitioner Roustam Shikdar, claims that he had to pay another Taka 1000 to the police after Monir and Shahidul were detained. This is not an isolated incident in the policing system of Bangladesh and the AHRC has frequently recorded the extent to which officers torture and bribe civilians in custody without any intervention; both practices seem to be an entrenched part of Bangladesh’s so-called legal system. You will find more on this issue here.

As a state party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Bangladesh is not only obligated to prohibit torture, but to proactively adopt measures to end the practice, bring those responsible to justice, and provide redress for the victims. Torture is banned under the Bangladesh Constitution, which states: 'No person shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.'


SUGGESTED ACTION:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has already written separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Question of Torture and on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges urging their intervention into this case. Please write to the officials listed below in this appeal calling for them to investigate the rampant corruption taking place at Paikgachha Police Station, and to dismiss and take legal action against the alleged perpetrators. Please also ask the authorities to arrange adequate compensation for the victims.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: Two men arbitrarily detained and tortured by police to elicit bribes

Names of victims:
1. Mr. Monirul Islam Monir, son of late Mr. Nawab Ali Gazi
2. Mr. Shahidul Islam, son of Mr. Shahar Ali
Both resident in Takia village, Khulna district, under the jurisdiction of the Paikgachha police station
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Ayub Ali, Sub Inspector of Police, attached to Paikgachha police station,Khulna district
2. Mr. Ali Hashem Khan, Inspector of Police and Officer-in-Charge (OC), Paikgachha police station, Khulna district
Date of arrest and torture: November 2 to 6, 2008
Place of torture: Paikgachha police custody

I am writing to express my serious concern about the ongoing trade of justice in Bangladesh. In this particular case the Paikgachha police in Khulna district illegally arrested two persons after receiving a bribe from a complainant. The police officers, namely Inspector Mr. Ali Hashem Khan, the Officer-in-Charge (OC), and Sub Inspector Mr. Ayub Ali arbitrarily detained Mr. Md. Monirul Islam Monir and Mr. Shahidul Islam for four days without any lawful reason or registered charge. They tortured the two men daily to extort bribes and eventually fabricated a charge, which went unquestioned in court and which the men were forced to accept. The cost of the bribes, the fine and the medical treatment has sent both men, already poor, into extreme poverty. I demand that the perpetrators be punished and dismissed following a thorough investigation of this incident and that the Paikgachha police be watched closely for further legal breaches from now forward.

On 28 October 2008 Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mr. Ali Hashem Khan and Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Ayub Ali reportedly demanded Taka 10,000.00 from Mr. Roustam Shikdar, who wanted to lodge a complaint regarding a theft, and suspected his neighbours. Shikdar submitted a written petition and SI Ayub Ali was assigned to deal with it off the record. Ali demanded and received a further Taka 4,500.00 (on 28 October 2008). No complaint was registered.

Despite this the Paikgachha police summoned Mr. Shahidul Islam, a rickshaw puller, to the police station on 2 November 2008, where he was held without any legal basis. At around 8:30 that night the police kicked Monirul Islam’s front door, verbally abused and handcuffed him, before taking him to the station by motorbike and detaining him there, again with no registered case or legal grounds. Both men were held in the station for four days.

Each day the officers--including SI Ayub--would take the men into another room, tie a rope around their waists and beat them with a bamboo stick for about half an hour. The men sustained injuries on the soles of their feet, their knee joints, elbow joints and backs. They were also squeezed between bamboo poles in a method of torture known locally as 'banshcall' and 'banshadala'  and common in police stations through the country. Other detainees in the station--including human rights defenders Mr. F. M. Abdur Razzak and Mr. Shankar Kumar Dhali (also in detention under fabricated charges, please see case UP-034-2007) witnessed Monir bleeding from his right foot, his knee and right elbow, heard the men shouting, and saw them crying from pain after the torture. Before these sessions began the men were asked for a bribe, which they couldn’t pay. The sessions ended with the threat that the beatings would continue unless they paid up.

The police sent word of the torture to the men’s families and demanded money. Monir's mother borrowed Taka 2,000 (about US$ 29) and paid it to the police on November 6. Later the same day SI Ayub produced both men before the Senior Judicial Magistrate's Court of Paikgachha. The police presented a fabricated a case against Monir and Shahidul under Section 34 of the Police Act-1861, claiming that they had been found shouting in the street near the magistrate’s court the night before. The police act allows the arrest of people for petty offences like littering without any prior direction from any magistrate. The complaint was recorded as a Non-GR (Government Record) Case No. 193/08 on November 6, 2008.

The officers had told both men to confess to the offence, if they wanted to be released quickly. Monir and Shafidul's lawyer also suggested they do this. There was no record of the men’s detention in custody for four days, or of Roustam Shikdar’s original complaint.

In order to pay the bribery money to the police, the lawyer’s expenses, the fine and the medical expenses, Monir’s family were forced to sell land, and pull his children for school to work with himself and his wife in a brickfield. The youngest is seven. Shahidul's relatives borrowed money at 10 per cent interest per month, and he had to sell his rickshaw. Both victims are suffering from physical and psychological problems as a result of the torture, social stigmatization and financial hardship.

I demand a thorough investigation so that the Paikgachha officers responsible be held accountable for this extensive series of crimes, from illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, torture and extortion to intimidation and the fabrication of the charges against Mr. Monirul Islam and Mr. Shahidul Islam. The alleged perpetrators, namely OC Ali Hashem Khan and SI Ayub Ali must be prosecuted if they are found guilty in the investigation. The authorities must pay adequate compensation to the victims for their suffering and financial loss.

With no stretch of the imagination does this series of events resemble law enforcement. No criminal procedure was followed, no legal codes observed and no complaint was registered. The officers involved have instead acted above and outside of the law, meting out systematic extra judicial violence and extorting money from both the complainant and the accused, all of whom are extremely poor. The incident severely violates the constitutionally enshrined fundamental rights in Article 33 (2) as well as Section 61 of Bangladesh’s Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and is a clear and unconscionable abuse of power. Unfortunately it is one that is assisted on every level, from the police, to the men’s lawyer and the judiciary. In other words, the policing system at Paikgachha is simply criminal.

Though torture is banned under the Bangladesh Constitution, which states: 'No person shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment,' I am informed that this is not an isolated incident in the policing system of Bangladesh. Noting the extent to which the officers were able to torture and bribe the civilians without any intervention, it appears that torture and extortion are an entrenched part of Bangladesh’s so-called legal system. I question why the law enforcement authorities, the judiciary and politicians consistently fail to tackle the breakdown of the law in Bangladesh and why no sustainable initiatives are undertaken to improve the situation. I wonder how the people of Bangladesh can have any faith in the authorities when those in power exploit, extort and torture them with impunity.

As a state party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Bangladesh is not only obligated to prohibit torture, but to proactively adopt measures to end the practice, bring those responsible to justice, and provide redress for the victims.

I urge the authorities of Bangladesh to start massive reforms in the policing system of the country so that the ongoing and excessive abuse of police power is brought to a halt, and the process of delivering justice can begin.

I trust that you will take action urgently in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

---------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Mrs. Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Prime Minister
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 811 3244 / 3243 / 1015 / 1490
Tel: +880 2 882 816 079 / 988 8677
E-mail: pm@pmo.gov.bd or ps1topm@pmo.gov.bd or psecy@pmo.gov.bd

2. Mr. M. M. Ruhul Amin
Chief Justice
Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 5058
Tel: +880 2 956 2792

3. Barrister Shafique Ahmed
Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7160627 
Fax: +880 2 7168557 

4. Ms. Sahara Khatun MP
Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7169069 
Fax: +880 2 7160405, 880 2 7164788 

5. Mr. Mahbubey Alam
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Annex Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 1568
Tel: +880 2 956 2868

6. Mr. Nur Mohammad
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters'
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 3362 / 956 3363
Tel: +880 2 956 2054 / 717 6451 / 717 6677
E-mail: ig@police.gov.bd

7. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Khulna Range
Office of the DIG of Khulna Range
Khulna
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 41 761300 (O)
Tel: +880 41 761823 (O)
E-mail: digkhulna@police.gov.bd

Thank you.
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-049-2009
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.