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BANGLADESH: Severe torture of a man by Rapid Action Battalion members in Dhaka

July 25, 2005

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION  

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

25 July 2005
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UA-126-2005: BANGLADESH: Severe torture of a man by Rapid Action Battalion members in Dhaka

BANGLADESH: Torture; Impunity; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the severe torture of a man by members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Jasimuddin road, Uttara sector- 7, Dhaka and RAB–1 Office at Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 15 July 2005. The victim was taken into RAB custody because he protested against the assault of an elderly man by plain-clothed RAB members on the street and then defended himself from their attack.

In Bangladesh, there are gross human rights violations committed by RAB personnel. The AHRC recently reported the increasingly common practice of extra-judicial killings by law enforcement agencies, especially by RAB, in Bangladesh. Three hundred and seventy eight people have been killed by these agencies since June 2004, with 18 killed in a matter of only 13 days in recent weeks. (See further: UG-03-2005) Of these killings, it is alleged that approximately 80 persons have been killed by RAB members in 2005 so far.

Your urgent intervention is required in this matter. Please urge the Bangladesh authorities to conduct an impartial and thorough enquiry by an independent investigating agency so that the alleged perpetrators are brought to justice accordingly. Allowing local police or army branches to investigate these cases would prevent any form of impartiality in the investigations. Please also urge them to compensate the victim. The Government of Bangladesh must strictly discipline RAB to prevent further human rights abuses in the future.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: SK. Abubakkar sultan Bitan, Executive Director of Harness Level Industries Ltd
Alleged perpetrators: Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ashraf and other members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
Date of incident: 15 July 2005
Place of incident: Jasimuddin road, Uttara sector- 7, Dhaka and RAB–1 Office at Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh

SK. Abubakkar sultan Bitan, Executive Director of Harness Level Industries Ltd, was severely tortured by the members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Jasimuddin road, Uttara sector- 7, Dhaka and RAB–1 Office at Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 15 July 2005. At about 8:00pm on July 15, Bitan was caught in a traffic jam at Jasimuddin road on the way back home and he saw three men in plainclothes, who were identified as members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) later, beating up an elderly man on the street. When Bitan protested against the assault, another RAB member threw sand in his eyes and pushed him aside. After that, Bitan defended himself and pushed a man, who later identified himself as RBA's Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ashraf.

ASP Ashraf then threatened Bitan saying, "Do you know who I am? How dare do you hit a RAB member? I will teach you a good lesson". He communicated with the mobile team of RAB and took Bitan to RAB–1 office at Uttara where he was beaten with iron rods. Bitan finally fell unconscious. Bitan said that he could escape death only after a high police official intervened and was released from RAB custody at 11:00pm. He was admitted to a local clinic first and later transferred to Central Hospital, Dhaka.

Bitan's sister Khadija Rahman filed a General Dairy (GD-complaint) at the Uttara Police Station about the incident on July 16. In the meantime, the RAB had earlier filed a GD against Bitan accusing him of assaulting ASP Ashraf.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter, fax, or an email to the persons listed below and express your concern about this case.

Sample letter:

Dear _______________,

Re: BANGLADESH: Severe torture of a man by Rapid Action Battalion

Name of the victim: SK. Abubakkar sultan Bitan, Executive Director of Harness Level Industries Ltd
Alleged perpetrators: Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ashraf and other members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
Date of incident: 15 July 2005
Place of incident: Jasimuddin road, Uttara sector- 7, Dhaka and RAB–1 Office at Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I am writing to bring to your urgent attention the severe torture of SK. Abubakkar sultan Bitan, Executive Director of Harness Level Industries Ltd, by the members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), including ASP Ashraf, on 15 July 2005.
 
I am very concerned about how the level of human rights abuses by RAB has been increasing rapidly for the last a couple of years. I was informed that RAB members have allegedly killed approximately 80 persons in 2005 so far.

Therefore, I strongly urge you to instruct an independent agency rather than local police or army branches to investigate this case to ensure impartiality in the investigation. Immediate disciplinary/criminal action must be taken against those responsible immediately. Compensation should also be provided to the victim and all security measures be met whilst investigations are underway.

The Government of Bangladesh, as a state party of UN Convention against Torture, should take strong steps to effectively implement it on the domestic level with the necessary institutional changes. In particular, I urge you to put your effort on establishing a special and independent agency/institute designed solely for the purpose of investigating the human rights abuses by the law enforcement officers where the victims can lodge complaints directly.

I look for your urgent intervention.

Yours truly,


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SEND A LETTER TO:

1. Mrs. Khaleda Zia
Prime Minister 
Prime Minister's Office
Old Parliament House,
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 8828160-79, 9888677
Fax: +880 2 8113244 or 3243 or 1015 or 1490
E-mail: pm@pmobd.org or psecretary@pmobd.org (to the Secretary)

2. Prof. Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed
President
The People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 9566242

3. Mr. Barrister Moudud Ahmed
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 8618557
E-mail: minoflaw@bdonline.com 

4. Mohammed Abdul Aziz Sarkar, BPM, PPM
Director General
Office of the Director General
Rapid Action Battalion Forces
Cargo Admin Building, Kurmitola,
Dhaka-1229
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 8961105
Fax: +880 2 8962884
E-mail: rabhqbd@yahoo.com, info@rabbd.com

5. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babar
State Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 8619667 / 9552323

6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)

7. Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations
821 United Nations Plaza, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10017
U.S.A.
Fax:  212-972-4038
Email:  Bangladesh@un.int


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Program
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-126-2005
Countries :
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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.