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UPDATE (Bangladesh): A torture victim is missing after being picked up by police

November 13, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-032-2009



13 November 2009

[RE: UP-048-2007: BANGLADESH: No prosecution against alleged perpetrators, while another Intelligence wing investigates the torture of two businessmen; UP-033-2007: BANGLADESH: Intelligence wing investigating into torture case; UP-019-2007: BANGLADESH: Court granted bail to two torture victims; UP-015-2007: BANGLADESH: Prolonged and arbitrary detention of two torture victims; UP-011-2007: BANGLADESH: Ongoing struggle for two businessmen arbitrarily arrested, tortured and detained by the army in Khulna district; UP-232-2006: BANGLADESH: Police investigate the alleged harassment of Muzibur Rahman by the DB police in Khulna; UA-367-2006: BANGLADESH: A man arbitrarily arrested and intimidated by the Detective Branch Police of Khulna]
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BANGLADESH: A torture victim is missing after being picked up by police

ISSUES: Arbitrary arrest and detention; harassment; impunity; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that the Paikgachha police have arrested Mr. Muzibur Rahman, a man who was previously arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured by the army in Khulna district, and held incommunicado The whereabouts of Mr. Muzibur are unknown. His relatives are afraid that hey may again be tortured and is at risk of being killed under the pretext of a 'crossfire' incident, which is a common method of extrajudicial killing by law-enforcement agents in Bangladesh. Please call for the immediate release of information about his detention, and for his swift, safe release to his family.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

On 13 November 2009 at around 10am a police team led by Sub Inspector Mr. Aminul Islam of the Paikgachha police station picked up Mr. Muzibur Rahman from his shrimp farm without a warrant of arrest. According to our reports he was detained at Paikgachha police station for around two hours, but police did not allow his relatives or lawyers to meet with him.

At around 12 noon Muzibur was taken away in a police vehicle, under the supervision of Sub Inspector Mr. Momin Uddin of the Paikgachha police. Nothing has been heard of him since.

After repeated enquiries from local human rights defenders, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Paigkachha police station Mr. Badrul Alam announced that they had orders to send Muzibar to the Office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, given by the Additional Superintendent of the Khulna. However no further explanation has been given and no warrant of arrest has been issued against him by any of the courts in the area. The police will not say where he is being held.

The family members and relatives of Muzibur are highly concerned about his welfare and safety, and believe that his detention could be in retaliation to remarks he has made since, about his ordeal; or for the purpose of bribery. Muzibar has chosen not to pursue a case against his torturers, believing the Bangladesh system incapable of delivering a just verdict. The chances of him being injured or killed in custody are high. Please see our previous urgent appeals for more information on the case: UP-033-2007; UP-019-2007; UP-015-2007; UP-011-2007; UA-367-2006; UP-232-2006).

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and call for the immediate safe release, and for those who have illegally arrested him to be held accountable.

The AHRC has written to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention informing them of this case.

To support this appeal please click here: ?lt;br />
SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: A torture victim is missing after being picked up by police

Name of the victims:
1. Mr. Muzibur Rahman, aged 40, a businessman, son of Mr. Munsop Sana, living in a house at the Court Road in the Paikgachha town under the Paikgachha police station in Khulna

Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Aminul Islam, Sub Inspector of Police
2. Mr. Momin Uddin, Sub Inspector of Police
3. Mr. Md. Aslam Hossain, Inspector of Police and Officer-in-Charge (OC)
4. Mr. Ramesh, Constable of Police
All are attached to the Paikgachha police station of the Khulna district

Place of incident: Paikgachha police station in Khulna distirct
Date of the incident: 13 November, 2009

I writing to register my serious concern for the condition of Mr. Muzibur Rahman, whose whereabouts have been unknown since the Paikgachha police arrested him from his shrimp farm at 10am today (13 November 2009). The police officers have declined to explain the reasons behind his arrest, and there is no warrant of arrest or complaints pending against him.

I have heard that the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Paikgachha police station has claimed that an Additional Superintendent of Police of the Khulna district asked him to arrest Mr. Muzibur Rahman and send to the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police in Khulna. However no further explanation has been given, and documents have been shown to his family or local professionals and human rights defenders.

I am aware that Mr. Muzibur was arbitrarily detained and tortured by the police and army on several occasions a few years ago without any lawful reason. His relatives are highly concerned about his welfare and safety, and believe that his detention could be in retaliation to remarks he has made since about his ordeal; or for the purpose of bribery. Mr. Muzibar has chosen not to pursue a case against his torturers, believing the Bangladesh system incapable of delivering a just verdict. I am told that the chances of him being injured or killed in custody are high.

I request that you intervene into the case immediately, to ensure that Mr. Muzibur Rahman is released swiftly and safely to his family, and protected from any harm while in custody. His whereabouts during detention must be exposed and those who arbitrarily and illegally detained him held accountable for their actions under the law.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS 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?lt;/span>

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-032-2009
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.