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BANGLADESH: Police pressure the victim of an acid attack to withdraw her case and marry her attacker

October 30, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-144-2009



30 October 2009

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BANGLADESH: Police pressure the victim of an acid attack to withdraw her case and marry her attacker

ISSUES: Violence against women; impunity; threats; police negligence
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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 discovered that Koyra police are working to support a man who threw acid at a teenage girl, and have pressured her to marry him. The police investigator allegedly used intimidation to try and get the case withdrawn, following bribes from the accused, and the attacker appears to have the backing of ruling party members. The latest investigation report cleared and discharged him despite strong evidence linking him to the crime, and no action has been taken against the officer responsible.

CASE DETAILS:

After having his marriage proposal refused a number of times, Mr. Ayub Mollah (20) reportedly took to teasing and harassing Ms. Reshma (18), whose parents work out of the country. After she complained to the man's family he threatened her with an acid attack which, on 7 May, he carried out. Reshma had already moved away to her maternal uncle's village to escape the threat, but on a trip back to pick up some belongings she reports that Ayub entered the house, sexually propositioned her and, when she said no, threw acid at her face. Neighbours intervened after hearing her cries, and Ayub fled the scene. The acid had burned her face, ear and left shoulder and Reshma was admitted to the Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH).

The One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) at the KMCH drafted a complaint, which they sent to the Koyra police on the 13 Oct, to be used in a First Information Report (FIR). Police did not record the complaint and various sources have reported that this is because a bribe had changed hands. A month of pressure from civilians meant that an FIR was lodged on 12 June (FIR No. 10/09) under Section 5 (B) of the Acid Crime Prevention Act-2002, though officers illegally changed the date of Reshma's complaint, which she had signed and dated.

Eyewitnesses then report that the Investigating Officer (IO), Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Md. Abdul Hashem, went to the area of the crime-scene and accepted refreshment from Ayub, along with various other members of the ruling political party, the Bangladesh Awami League. He then visited Reshma's house to insist that she withdraw her case. He reportedly told her that she had no chance of winning the case because she was too poor, and her attacker's supporters too powerful. The SI then suggested that she settle for a cash payment and consider marrying Ayub, for her own safety.

Ayub and his political associates then started to harass Reshma, threatening her life, and other witnesses have also allegedly been warned not to testify. At just 18, Reshma is extremely vulnerable, and is losing her will to fight the case in court. She recently told local human rights defenders: 'I don't trust the police now; I can't be hopeful about the fate of my case because of the role of the IO. The witnesses of my case are also very afraid. Will it be possible to get justice from the court if the police conduct investigations in this way?'

She has lodged a General Diary (a legal communication) with the Koyra police seeking physical and legal protection from the police but has been given none, however SI Hashem's final report, given in September, discharges Ayub despite the evidence against him.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

According to Section 13 of the Acid Crime Prevention Act-2002, any kind of negligence, misconduct and procedural inefficiency during the investigation of the case can be met with legal action. Along with the misconduct already mentioned above, SI Hashem (working under Mr. Kazi Daud Hossain, Inspector of Police and Officer-in-Charge at Koyra) was legally obliged to submit his investigation report to the court within thirty working days of the investigation beginning; in this case on June 12.

If there is an acceptable explanation from the officer investigating an acid attack, the court can extend this twice by 15 days (Section 11 of the Acid Crime Prevention Act-2002). The SI's report in September was long overdue.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the officials listed below calling for their investigation into the negligence and alleged corruption at Koyra police station, for a reopening of the investigation into Ms Reshma's attack, and for the protection of the victim.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has already written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, urging her intervention into this case.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: Police pressure the victim of an acid attack to withdraw her case and marry her attacker

Name of the victim:
1. Ms. Reshma, age 18; daughter of Mr. Md. Habibullah Morol; residing in Horinkhola village under the Koyra police station in Khulna district..

Names of the alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Md. Abdul Hashem, Sub Inspector of Police; attached to Koyra Police Station in Khulna district at the time of the incident.
2. Mr. Kazi Daud Hossain, Inspector of Police and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Koyra Police Station in Khulna district at the time of the incident.
3. Mr. Md. Ayub Mollah, age 20; son of Mr. Eakub Mollah; living in Ghatakhali under Koyra Police Station in Khulna district.

Date of incident: 7 May 2009
Place of incident: The victim's home, Horinkhola village, Khulna district

I am writing to express my deepest concern over the acid attack of a teenage girl, who has since been repeatedly intimidated by the alleged attacker and police while fighting her case. I am appalled to hear that Koyra police are reportedly working to support the attacker rather than the vulnerable victim, and have pressured her to marry him. The final investigation report cleared and discharged the accused despite strong evidence linking him to the crime, and I demand to know why no action has been taken against the officer responsible.

According to the case information I have received, Mr. Ayub Mollah took to harassing and threatening Ms. Reshma (whose parents work out of the country) after a marriage refusal. The victim moved away to escape the threat, but on a brief trip back home she reports that Mr. Mollah entered the house, sexually propositioned her and threw acid at her face. She suffered burns to her face, ear and left shoulder; neighbours admitted her to the Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH).

However I am disturbed to hear that the complaint – drafted by the One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) at the KMCH on 13 Oct – was not recorded. I hear that it was only lodged after a full month of pressure from civilians (FIR No. 10/09), and that officers illegally changed the date of the signed complaint.

Eyewitnesses then report that the Investigating Officer (IO), Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Md. Abdul Hashem, went to the area of the crime-scene and accepted refreshment from Mr. Mollah, along with various other members of the ruling political party, the Bangladesh Awami League, before visiting the victim at home to insist that she withdraw her case. The SI suggested that she settle for a cash payment and, I am outraged to hear, marry Mr. Mollah for her own safety and benefit.

I hear that Mr. Mollah and his political associates have given death threats to Reshma and warned other witnesses not to testify. While she has lodged a General Diary with the Koyra police seeking protection and has been given none, the perpetrator has been granted his own form of police protection: despite strong evidence to the contrary, SI Hashem's overdue final report in September discharged him.

I strongly urge the Bangladeshi authorities to rescue the reputation of law enforcement in this area, and give the crime the investigation it is due by law; taking particular note of the age and vulnerability of the victim. Such acid attacks against women must only be met with strong criminal sanctions if they are to be discouraged. The alleged illegal actions of the Koyra police, particularly SI Md. Abdul Hashem, must be probed and those proved guilty brought before the law and removed from their positions. As is evident from this case, the Bangladesh police require thorough reforms for the sake of the rule of law in the country.

I trust you will take stern and prompt action into this case.

Yours sincerely,

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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
E-mail: info@minlaw.gov.bd
 
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
Email: minister@mha.gov.bd

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. Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury
Chairman
National Human Rights Commission
6/3 Lalmatia, Block-D
Dhaka-1207
BANGLADESH
Telefax: +880 2 9137743

7. 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 

8. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Khulna Range
Office of the DIG of Khulna Range
Khulna
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 41 761300 
Tel: +880 41 761823 
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-144-2009
Countries :
Issues :
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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.