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BANGLADESH: A man arbitrarily arrested and tortured by the Kotwali police remains detained in Barisal jail

January 9, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

9 January 2006
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UA-011-2006: BANGLADESH: A man arbitrarily arrested and tortured by the Kotwali police remains detained in Barisal jail

BANGLADESH: Arbitrary arrest and detention; Torture; Intimidation; Deprivation of medical treatment
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that a man, who was arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured by the Kotwali police continues to remain in Barisla jail despite having had no official charges laid against him.

The victim, Imon Chowdhury came into conflict with his father-in-law, who did not recognise the marriage of his daughter and Imon. The father-in-law and his relatives proceeded to beat Imon, before handing him over to the Kotwali police. Once in custody, Imon was tortured by the police and was threatened with a sharp object. He was then detained overnight.

The police then produced the victim before the Magistrate Court of Barisal. The Magistrate, responding to the repeated requests by the police to detain the victim, ordered he be detained at Barisal jail, despite the police having failed to lay any specific charges against him. To date, the victim continues to languish in jail.

The AHRC is calling upon you to write letters to the relevant authorities in Bangladesh, in particular the Inspector General of Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs, urging them to take immediate disciplinary and legal action against the errant policemen of Barisal district. The necessary reparations for the victim must be met.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Imon Chowdhury (23), son of Mr. Jahangir Chowdhury, a habitant of Ghanadhan village under Gaibandha district
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Sadar Circle of Barisal District
2. Sheikh Jillur Rahman, Inspector of Police and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Kotwali police in Barisal district
3. Mr. Motiar Rahman Sub Inspector (S I) of Police and Second Officer of the Kotwali police in Barisal district
4. Mr. Khalilur Rahman, Assistant Sub Inspector (A S I) of Police of the Kotwali police
5. Ms. Nazma Aktar Sukhi, Assistant Sub Inspector (A S I) of Police of the Kotwali police
Date of incident: 28 December 2005
Place of incident: Kotwali police station in Barisal

Case Details:

On 28 December 2005, Imon Chowdhury (23) went to his father-in-law’s house at Rice Research Institute Road in Barisal town to collect his wife and return to his house in Gaibandha district. Imon’s wife Frzana (alias Suraia Akter Lima), who is pregnant, was staying there. She had left her husband’s house a few days earlier with her father, Mr. Abdur Razzak following a false assurance from him that he would recognise the love marriage between his daughter and her husband.

According to the information, Lima’s father and other relatives beat Imon when he arrived at her father’s house. Mr. Abdur Razzak handed Imon over to the ASP (Sadar Circle) of Barisal district police Mr. Mizanur Rahman, who is a batch mate of one of Razzak’s relative. ASP Mizan and his colleagues arrested Imon without any specific charge recorded against him before he was taken under arrest. The police then took Imon into the office of the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Kotwali police and tortured him with sticks. The police also threatened to put a sharp steel weapon into Imon’s body while beating him. Imon sustained considerable injuries to his body.

The police then brought Imon before the Magistrate court of Barisal under section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC) and tried to frame him on fabricated charges. He was then detained at the Barisal jail under the order of the Magistrate, who refused to grant him bail due to repeated objections from the police against the petition on behalf of Imon.

However, the police, in defending their actions and under the influence of Mr. Abdur Razzak, have given two contradictory stories before the media. According to one story put forward by the police, Imon came to Lima’s house at Rice Research Institute of Barisal under the Sagardi area of the divisional town from his home district Gaibandha, which is far away from there. The local boys beat Imon on the street and handed him over to the police later on. In another story the police claimed, Imon used to regularly torture his wife Lima for dowry. As a result his wife left their marital home. When Imon came to seek dowry from Lima’s parent’s in Barisal, the local people handed him over to the police. The police produced Imon before the court under section 54 of the Cr.PC, not under the Women and Children Repression Prevention (Revised) Act, which is applicable in cases involving dowry and violence against women. 

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter immediately to the Inspector General of Police and the other persons below expressing your concern about the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of Imon urging them to take prompt action to investigate the conduct of the police and to ensure that justice is attained for the victim.

Sample Letter:

Dear _______________ 

BANGLADESH: A man arbitrarily arrested and tortured by the Kotwali police remains detained in Barisal jail

Name of the victim: Imon Chowdhury (23), son of Mr. Jahangir Chowdhury, a habitant of Ghanadhan village under Gaibandha district
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Sadar Circle of Barisal District
2. Sheikh Jillur Rahman, Inspector of Police and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Kotwali police in Barisal district
3. Mr. Motiar Rahman Sub Inspector (S I) of Police and Second Officer of the Kotwali police in Barisal district
4. Mr. Khalilur Rahman, Assistant Sub Inspector (A S I) of Police of the Kotwali police
5. Ms. Nazma Aktar Sukhi, Assistant Sub Inspector (A S I) of Police of the Kotwali police
Date of incident: 28 December 2005
Place of incident: Kotwali police station in Barisal

I am writing to bring to your attention the alleged arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of a man by the Kotwali police of Barisal district in Bangladesh and his current detention in jail, despite having had no formal charges laid against him.

According to the information I have received, Imon Chowdhury went to see his pregnant wife Lima at her parent’s house at Rice Research Institute Road under Sagardi area in Barisal town. Lima’s father, Mr. Abdur Razzak, who did not recognise the marriage of his daughter to Imon, proceeded to beat Imon when he arrived at his house. He then handed Imon over to the Assistant Superintendent of Police-ASP (Sadar Circle) of Barisal district police office, Mr. M Mizanur Rahman. The police officer, along with his colleagues, beat Imon with sticks in the office of the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Kotwali police. Imon sustained considerable injuries.

The police intimidated the victim by threatening to stab him with a sharp object. He was then produced before the Magistrate court under section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr. PC) and was detained in Barisal jail despite having had no specific charge laid against him. It has been alleged that the police, who have been influenced by Imon’s father-in-law, and in an attempt to defend themselves, are trying to have actual charges laid against the victim.

In light of this, I request that you ensure a fair and thorough investigation into the alleged conduct of the police.  If it is found that the alleged perpetrators committed crimes against the victim, then they must be made accountable for their actions and if found guilty, indicted under the prevailing domestic laws of Bangladesh. Furthermore, given that no charges have been laid against the victim, he should be released from jail without delay.

The police authority of Barisal district must compensate the victim for the loss he has suffered, and arrange all necessary medical treatment for him.  During the investigation of the police, protection must be afforded to the victim.  

The repeated violations committed by law enforcers in Bangladesh point to the urgent need for training for all police and other law enforcement agents. Without this training heinous crimes committed by the very people who are supposed to uphold the rule of law will no doubt continue. 

Therefore, I urge you and other government officials in Bangladesh to consider reforming your current law enforcement system by introducing better training programmes for your police officers and to make them more accountable for the abuses they have committed against ordinary citizens of Bangladesh.

I look forward to your urgent intervention in this matter.
 
Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Abdul Quayum
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Police Headquarters’
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562054 or 7176451 or 7176677 (O), +88-02-8362552 or 8362553 (R)
Fax: +88-02-9563362 or 9563363

2. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babor
State Minister
The Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-7169069 (O) or 8359000 (R)
Fax: +88-02-7160405, +88-02-7164788

3. Mr. Anwarul Karim
Joint Secretary (Police)
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-7164680 (O) or 8953012 (R)
Fax: +88-02-7171592

4. Mr. A J Mohammad Ali
The Attorney General of Bangladesh
The Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562868
Fax: +88-02-9561568

5. Mr. Sayed J. R. Modassir Hossain
The Chief Justice
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562792
Fax: +88-02-9565058

6. Mr. Sheikh Hemayat Uddin
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Barisal Range
Office of the DIG of Police Barisal Range
Sadar Road, Barisal
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-0431-63574 (O)
Fax: +88-0431-65150 (O)

7. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr.Sarir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel:+41 22 917 9230
Fax:+41 22 9179016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org

8. Ms Leila Zerrougui
Chairperson
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
c/o Miguel de la Lama
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTENTION: Working Group on Arbitrary Detention)
Email

Thank you.

Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-011-2006
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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.