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BANGLADESH: Students beaten by the Rapid Action Battalion in Bagerhat

January 27, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

27 January 2006
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UA-043-2006: BANGLADESH: Students beaten by the Rapid Action Battalion in Bagerhat

BANGLADESH: Arbitrary Torture; Rapid Action Battalion
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that ten students were beaten by soldiers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The victims were demanding the punishment of some errant staff of the public transport system for charging extra bus fares to college students. When the students blocked the road that the bus was wishing to drive down, personnel from the RAB-6 arrived soon after and beat them. Five of the victims have been admitted to a local hospital to receive medical treatment for the injuries they have suffered. 

The AHRC is calling upon you to write letters to the relevant authorities in Bangladesh, in particular the Director General of RAB and the Ministry of Home Affairs, urging them to take immediate disciplinary and legal action against the errant personnel of the RAB-6. The necessary reparations for the victims must also be met.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victims:
1. Rakibul Islam Rakib, General Secretary of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College Students Union
2. Aminul Islam, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
3. Ariful Islam, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
4. Rabiul Islam, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
5. Ruhul Amin, Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
6. Shabuz, Student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
7. Babu, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
8. Jamal Shiekh, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
9. Sekendar, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
(All living in Bagerhat district) 
Name of the alleged perpetrators:
Soldiers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) –6, Khulna
Date of incident: 24 January 2006
Place of incident: Bailey Bridge, Bagerhat- Chtolmari Road in Bagerhat district

Case Details:

On 24 January 2006, two college students were forcefully removed from a bus by its conductor following their refusal to pay extra fares. Learning the news the students of the Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College blocked the Bagerhat-Chitolmari Road at the Bailey Bridge point. The students were demanding punishment of the errant staff of the bus by holding a demonstration at the place. The members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-6 soon after arrived at the scene and proceeded to beat the students indiscriminately resulting in at least ten students, including the General Secretary of the Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College Students Union, being injured; five of them are now hospitalised with serious wounds.

The students became agitated following the brutality by the RAB personnel. However, the principals of two colleges and the Chitolmari police controlled the situation. Additionally, police forces have been patrolling the area to stop any further deterioration of the situation. 

Meanwhile, the authorities of the college and the Bus Owners’ Association have come together to discuss how best to avoid further such incidents. The officials of the RAB-6 denied their involvement with the beating despite the victims asserting that it could be proved through an impartial investigation.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter immediately to the Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the other persons below expressing your concern about the torture of the students urging them to take prompt action to investigate the conduct of the soldiers and to ensure that justice is attained for the victim.

Sample Letter:

Dear _______________

BANGLADESH: Ten students beaten by the Rapid Action Battalion in Bagerhat

Name of the victims:
1. Rakibul Islam Rakib, General Secretary of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College Students Union
2. Aminul Islam, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
3. Ariful Islam, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
4. Rabiul Islam, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
5. Ruhul Amin, Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
6. Shabuz, Student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
7. Babu, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
8. Jamal Shiekh, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
9. Sekendar, student of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College, Bagerhat
(All living in Bagerhat district) 
Name of the alleged perpetrators:
Soldiers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) –6, Khulna
Date of incident: 24 January 2006
Place of incident: Bailey Bridge, Bagerhat- Chtolmari Road in Bagerhat district

I am writing to bring to your attention the alleged torture of ten students by soldiers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)- 6 in Bagerhat district in Bangladesh.

According to the information I have received, two college students were forced to get off a bus following a demand of extra fares to the passengers by its conductor. Protesting the incident the students of Chitolmari Sher-E-Bangla Degree College blocked the Bagerhat-Chitolmari Road at Bailey Bridge point demanding punishment of the errant bus conductor. A vehicle of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-6 soon after arrived at the scene as they passed along the road and proceeded to beat the students indiscriminately. At least ten students were wounded due to the beating. Five of them were admitted to the local hospital with serious wounds.

I have also been informed that the authority of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-6 denied their having involvement with this incident despite the victims claiming it would be proven true if investigated properly.

In light of this, I request that you ensure a fair and thorough investigation into the alleged conduct of the RAB personnel.  If it is found that the alleged perpetrators committed crimes against the victims, then they must be made accountable for their actions and if found guilty, indicted under the prevailing domestic laws of Bangladesh. 

The RAB authority must compensate the victims for the loss they have suffered, and arrange all necessary medical treatment for them.  During the investigation of the concerned authorities protection must be afforded to the victims as well as the witnesses.

The repeated violations committed by the law enforcers in Bangladesh points to the urgent need for training for all 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 the officers of the law enforcing agents 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 LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. M A Aziz Sarkar
Director General (DG)
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
RAB Headquarter
Uttara, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02- 8961105 (O)
Fax: +88-02- 8962884 (O)
Cell: +88 011-816205, +88 011-818245, +88 0172993105
E-mail: rabhqbd@yahoo.com

2. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babor MP
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. 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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

Thank you.

Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-043-2006
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.