Home / News / Urgent Appeals / BANGLADESH: Police prevent a journalist from filing torture allegations against paramilitary soldiers
 

BANGLADESH: Police prevent a journalist from filing torture allegations against paramilitary soldiers

October 31, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-146-2009

31 October 2009

---------------------------------------------------------------------
BANGLADESH: Police prevent a journalist from filing torture allegations against paramilitary soldiers

ISSUES: Torture; freedom of expression and opinion; impunity; denial of justice; rule of law
---------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW RELATED REPORTS:

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

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a team from the Rapid Action Battalion-10, a paramilitary force involved in maintaining law and order in Bangladesh, tortured a journalist at his house while in their custody, and detained him for more than ten hours. The soldiers made a fabricated video at his house and in their office involving drugs, in an attempt to discredit him. The police would not allow him to register a torture complaint against his perpetrators and the authorities have not yet taken any lawful action into this matter.

CASE DETAILS:

On 22 October 2009, according to the victim and other eyewitnesses, a (Rapid Action Battalion) RAB-10 team, in plain cloth, raided a house under the jurisdiction of the Jatrabari police, in Dhaka. One resident, Mr. F. M. Masum is a crime reporter for the New Age - a national daily newspaper based in Dhaka, and lives on the second floor.

At about 10:30am, Masum saw some plain clothed people beating the wife of the owner of the house in front of the building's gate. They asked him to open the gate and he refused, but when the men identified themselves as RAB personnel he obeyed. However the men then started to beat him.

The battalion personnel, led by Fight Lieutenant Anis, took him inside and started to torture him with iron rods, wooden stick and with the blunt backside of machetes. According to the victim they hit him on the knees and other joints, then applied salt to the bleeding wounds. After about an hour they took him inside his apartment where they reportedly produced six bottles of Phensidyl (codeine) syrup, placed them on his bed and videoed the display.

The battalion took him to the RAB 10 headquarters at Dhalpur, while handcuffed. Masum begged to be allowed his inhaler; the officer swore at him and refused. The torture then continued at the RAB-10 office, where he was told that he may be arranged to die in a 'crossfire' killing. The team stuck a label on Masum's t-shirt that read 'Drug peddler' and shot more video with another batch of drugs at the office.

In the meantime we are told that senior journalists of the New Age contacted the battalion’s director general, home secretary and the home minister, telling them that the arrest was mistaken. The journalists were given different reasons for his detention by different battalions; some claimed Masum had been found in possession of Pethedine, some said with Phensidyl syrup, while some others said they found him with prostitutes. They promised his release.

After these assurances from the battalion’s director general, home secretary and home minister, it took four more hours for Masum to be released at 10:30pm. The colleagues he was released to had to sign a paper that alleged that he had been picked up for not cooperating with law-enforcers, but was being released 'in good health'. Masum reportedly was covered in torture wounds; his body and his feet were swollen, his eyes bloodshot.  After being admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), physicians advised that he have a CT scan and X-ray, with the tests run early Friday. Masum was then discharged earlyfrom the DMCH, at about 2:30pm although his condition was still serious. He admitted himself to the Dhaka Community Hospital, a private hospital, on the same day where he is being treated.

Masum told the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that he is experiencing hearing problems in his left ear and has serious pain in his knees, elbows, shoulders, soles and in the back of the head. Quoting his physicians he said that his full physical recovery may take many months, if medical treatment is adequately provided.

On 23 October, the RAB Headquarters released a statement which said" "RAB sincerely expresses regret for the unwarranted incident that has taken place between RAB personnel and journalist FM Masum of the largely-circulated daily New Age. RAB is looking into the matter with importance. The RAB headquarters has formed an inquiry team and the matter is being investigated. Punitive action will be taken against anyone of RAB found guilty."

However Mr. Shahiduzzaman, the Chief Reporter at the paper, told the AHRC that the Jatrabari police rejected their attempts to register a complaint at the station on 24 October.

On 25 October the Home Minister Ms. Sahara Khatun along with her deputy Mr. Shamsul Haque Tuku, state minister, visited Masum at the Dhaka Community Hospital. The Home Minister assured him that his torture allegations will be registered, yet the Jatrabari police have still not acted.

The only action that appears to have been taken inside the RAB is for one man, Flight Lieutenant Anis, to have been transferred to the Bangladesh Air Force, where he used to serve.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Masum and his family have accused the staff of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) of misconduct, regarding his hasty treatment and discharge, and suspect that they were influenced by the military connection of the case.

The New Age, as a national daily, constantly highlights the issues surrounding human rights abuses in Bangladesh., with the editor, Mr. Nurul Kabir known for his independent views, expressed in writing, televised talk-shows and civil society meetings on the rule of law and human rights issues. Before his torture F. M. Masum reportedly published several articles on extrajudicial killings conducted by the RAB.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the officials listed below, calling for them to investigate the misconduct and torture committed by Rapid Action Battalion personnel and the Jatrabari police. Please also ask the authorities to arrange adequate compensation and medical treatment for the victim.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has already written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Question of Torture and Freedom of Expression and Opinion urging their intervention into this case.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: Police prevent a journalist from filing torture allegations against paramilitary soldiers

Name of the torture victim:
1. Mr. F. M. Masum, journalist of the New Age, an English speaking national daily newspaper; living in South Jatrabari, Dhaka Metropolitan City

Alleged Perpetrators:
1. Mr. Anis, Flight Lieutenant of the Bangladesh Air Force, attached to the Rapid Action Battalion-10 at the time of the incident
2. Around eight other members of the Rapid Action Battalion-10.

Date of Torture: 22 October 2009
Place of incident: The house of the victim and the office of the RAB-10 at Dhalapur in Dhaka

I am writing to express my concern about a case in which a team from the Rapid Action Battalion-10, tortured a journalist and framed him for drug abuse, yet have not yet faced any kind of investigation.

According to the information I have received on 22 October 2009 Mr. F. M. Masum  - a crime reporter for the New Age saw some plain clothed people beating the wife of the owner of the house he lives in. As he tried to leave the building they also proceeded to beat him.

I understand that the battalion personnel, led by Fight Lieutenant Anis, took him inside and tortured him with iron rods, wooden stick and with the blunt backside of machetes, then produced and filmed six bottles of Phensidyl (codeine) syrup in his apartment. 

The battalion then continued to beat him at RAB 10 headquarters at Dhalpur, where more video footage was taken of him and various drugs. He was told that his death may be arranged in a 'crossfire' killing.

When senior journalists of the New Age contacted the battalion’s director general, home secretary and the home minister, they were given different reasons for his detention. When he was finally released I am told that colleagues had to sign a paper that alleged that he had been picked up for not cooperating with law-enforcers, but was being released 'in good health'. Yet Masum was allegedly covered in torture wounds.

He was given inaquate treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and has admitted himself to the Dhaka Community Hospital where he is being treated, for loss of hearing and serious pain. Despite a public statement of RAB 'regret' and assurances from Home Minister Ms. Sahara Khatun and her deputy Mr. Shamsul Haque Tuku, no torture allegations have been registered by the Jatrabari police.

The only action that appears to have been taken inside the RAB is for one man, Flight Lieutenant Anis, to have been transferred to the Bangladesh Air Force, where he used to serve.

I have the question, does the home minister or the government itself really have any control over the law-enforcement agencies of the country? This is totally unacceptable that the torture victims are denied to register complaints in Bangladesh and the authorities seem to be granting impunity to the perpetrators.

I strongly urge the Bangladeshi authorities to hold a thorough and immediate investigation into the illegal actions of the RAB-10, and for those proven guilty to be justly punished according to the law and removed from their positions. The victim must be provided with extensive compensation and treatment for his ordeal. The authorities have to prove that the torture of the journalist was not an attempt to deny the freedom of expression and opinion.

Bangladesh should urgently criminalize torture in order to prevent the ongoing practice of brutal forms of torture at the hands of the law-enforcing agencies. I am aware that a bill titled "Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition Bill 2009)" on criminalization of torture and extra judicial killings is tabled in the parliament, which should be enacted without any delay for the sake of the victims' access into the criminal justice system.

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

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
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. A K M Shahidul Hoque
Commissioner
Dhaka Metropolitan Police
DMP Headquarter
36, Shahid Captain Monsur Ali Road
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 8322746 
Tel: +880 2 9331555 /88-02-8322746
Mobile: +8801711538313
E-mail: complain@dmp.gov.bd / emergency@dmp.gov.bd / commissioner@dmp.gov.bd 

9. Hassan Mahmood Kahndker
Director General
Rapid Action Battalion
RAB Headquarter
Uttara, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: + 880 2 8919078/ 880 2 8961101
Mobile: +8801199886600/ 8801713014050/ 8801713374469
Fax: + 880 2 896 2884
Email: dg_rab@rab.gov.bd 


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-146-2009
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.