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BANGLADESH: Journalists beaten by the police at the Chittagong stadium

April 17, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

18 April 2006
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UA-128-2006: BANGLADESH: Journalists beaten by the police at the Chittagong stadium

BANGLADESH: Torture; intimidation; threat; deprivation of professional duty; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that at least 16 journalists were injured due to police brutality at the Bir Sreshtha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium in Chittagong on 16 April 2006. The police beat the on-duty journalists with guns, sticks, boots and fists. The perpetrators also damaged and confiscated the journalists’ cameras after photos were taken of the police atrocities. A Deputy Commissioner and a traffic police sergeant of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) allegedly initiated the attack. Two journalists were seriously wounded during the incident.  

On 16 April 2006, at around 9:00am, photojournalist of the Agence France-Presse (AFP), Ms. Farzana Godhuli, and a senior photojournalist of the daily Prothom Alo, Mr. Shah Shamsul Haque Tengku were going to the Bir Sreshtha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium in Chittagong to cover the news of the second test cricket match between Bangladesh and Australia by three-wheeler scooter. Traffic police sergeant of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), Mr. Anwar Sattar, stopped the journalists and asked them to get off the vehicle. The police sergeant reasoned that passengers without car-parking passes are not allowed to enter into the stadium area. The journalists then showed their accreditation cards and Very Important Person (VIP) car-parking pass to the policeman and requested him to allow them to proceed. The police sergeant became aggressive towards the journalists and verbally abused them. When the journalists questioned why he was behaving in this way, sergeant Anwar pulled down journalist Tengku from the vehicle and proceeded to punch and kick him while the other policemen joined in. The sergeant also threatened to kill Tengku. When other photojournalists witnessed this scene they began to take photos of the police violence. Some journalists rushed to the scene and tried to save Tengku from the brutality of the police. The sergeant became annoyed with the journalists and tried to steal their cameras.

The journalists decided not to cover the news of the cricket match protesting instead against the barbaric action of the police. The leaders of the journalist community demanded exemplary punishment of the errant police sergeant. When the local cricket organisers and administrators attempted to arrange a reconciliation between the journalists and the policeman, on condition of an unconditional apology by the perpetrator for this crime, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) port zone, Mr. Ali Akbar Khan, led a group of around 25 policemen and attacked the journalists, who were sitting on the cricket ground. The DC of the CMP and his subordinates proceeded to beating the journalists with their guns, sticks, boots and fists. The police stole and broke the cameras of the journalists. At least 16 journalists and photojournalists were injured due to the atrocities of the police. Among them photojournalist of the daily Purbokone, Mr. Anurup Tito, was bleeding from his head due to the police attack. He was admitted to the Royal Hospital in Chittagong where he underwent an operation on his head that evening. Sixty-five-year-old photojournalist of the Daily Ajkal, Mr. Zahurul Haque, was severely beaten by the police with sticks and riffle butts. The police also kicked and punched him while he was lying on the ground of the stadium.

The CMP head quarters denied the action of the police in a press note on April 16 despite the scene being recorded and shown by national and international television channels and broadcasted with live pictures. However, the State Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Lutfozzaman Babar, expressed his sorrow over the incident on April 17. The minister announced that police sergeant Anwar Sattar had been temporarily suspended while DC, Mr. Ali Akbor Khan, has been withdrawn from his duties.

Meanwhile, the journalist community across the country termed the government's action an "Eye wash". The journalists are continuing their protest and avoiding the news on the cricket match. They are demanding judicial inquiry into the incident and requiring the permanent suspension from service of those policemen who were involved.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the persons listed below and urge them to form an independent judicial probe commission to investigate into the incident. The alleged perpetrators should be suspended from their service while the investigation is going on and protection should be provided to the journalists. Please also urge the Bangladesh government to ensure appropriate compensation for the treatment of the victims and the damage to the equipment of the journalists.

Suggested letter:

Dear ___________,

BANGLADESH: Journalists beaten by the police at the Chittagong stadium

Names of the victims:
1. Shah Shamsul Haque Tengku, photojournalist of the Daily Prothom Alo, Chittagong
2. Mahmudul Hassan Shamim, journalist of RTV, Chittagong
3. Saidur Rahmam Shamim, journalist of the Daily Jugantor, Chittagong
4. Saiduzzaman, journalist of the Daily Amar Desh, Chittagong
5. Zahurul Haque, photojournalist of the Daily Ajkal, Chittagong
6. Ravi Shangkar, photojournalist of the Daily Ajker Kagoj, Chittagong
7. Ruhul Amin Rana, journalist of the Weekly Jai Jai Din, Chittagong
8. Anurup Tito, photojournalist of the Daily Purbokone, Chittagong
9. Sajedul Alam Tuhin, cameraman of RTV, Chittagong
10. Avijit Vanik, journalist of the Khabarpatra, Chittagong
11. Uzzal Dhar, journalist of the Naya Diganta, Chittagong
12. Rajesh Chakravarti, journalist of the Daily Shamakal, Chittagong
13. Zahid Hossain, photojournalist of the Independent, Chittagong
14. Abu Raihan, journalist of BD News 24, Chittagong
15. Zafar Iqbal, journalist of the Daily Sangram, Chittagong
16. Monti, photographer of Grameen Phone
Names of the alleged perpetrators:
1. Ali Akbor Khan, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Police (Port Zone), the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)
2. Anwar Sattar, traffic police sergeant, the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)
3. Around 25 policemen of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)
Date of incident: 16 April 2006
Place of incident: Bir Sreshtha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium, Chittagong

I am writing to express my condemnation over the police brutality of journalists in Chittagong during the second test cricket match between Bangladesh and Australia.

According to the information I have received, on 16 April 2006, at around 9:00am, photojournalist of the Agence France-Presse (AFP), Ms. Farzana Godhuli, and a senior photojournalist of the daily Prothom Alo, Mr. Shah Shamsul Haque Tengku were going to the Bir Sreshtha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium in Chittagong to cover the news of the second test cricket match between Bangladesh and Australia by three-wheeler scooter. Traffic police sergeant of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), Mr. Anwar Sattar, stopped the journalists and asked them to get off the vehicle despite them having shown their accreditation cards and Very Important Person (VIP) car-parking pass. When the journalists questioned the police sergeant he become agitated towards the journalists and verbally abused them. He then pulled down journalist Tengku from the vehicle and proceeded to punch and kick him while the other policemen joined in. I have also learned that the sergeant threatened to kill Mr. Tengku. When photojournalists witnessed the violence they began taking photos of the scene. Some journalists rushed to the scene and tried to save Tengku from the brutality of the police. The sergeant became annoyed with the journalists and tried to snatch the cameras from them.

I have also learned that despite initiatives taken by the local cricket organisers and administrators to reconcile the journalists and the policeman, on condition that the latter apologise, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) port zone, Mr. Ali Akbar Khan, led a group of around 25 policemen and attacked the journalists, who were sitting on the cricket ground. The DC of the CMP and his subordinates proceeded to beating the journalists with their guns, sticks, boots and fists. The police snatched and broke the cameras of the journalists. At least 16 journalists and photojournalists were injured due to the atrocities of the police. Among them photojournalist of the daily Purbokone, Mr. Anurup Tito, was bleeding from his head due to the police attacking him with a riffle butt. He was admitted to the Royal Hospital in Chittagong and underwent an operation on his head that evening. Sixty-five-year-old photojournalist of the daily Ajkal, Mr. Zahurul Haque, was severely beaten by the police with sticks and riffles. The police also kicked and punched him while he was lying on the ground of the stadium.

In light of this, I urge the government of Bangladesh to form a judicial probe commission to conduct a fair and impartial investigation. I ask you to suspend the alleged policemen from their service while the investigation is going on. Protection should be ensured to the journalists and adequate compensation should be given to them for the injuries and trauma they have suffered and the damage of the equipment done by the police. If it is found that the alleged perpetrators committed crimes against the victims, then they must be held accountable for their actions and if found guilty of crimes, indicted under the prevailing domestic laws of Bangladesh. 

I look forward to your urgent intervention in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mrs. Begum Khaleda Zia
Prime Minister
The Government of the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Prime Minister
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. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babor MP
State Minister
The Ministry of Home Affairs
The 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. 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

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

5. Mr. Abdul Quayum
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
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

6. Mr. Anwarul Karim
Joint Secretary (Police)
Ministry of Home Affairs
The 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

7. Mr. M A Mazedul Haque
Commissioner
Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)
CMP Headquarter
Chittagong
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 031 624100 (O)
Fax: +88 031 621565 (O)

8. 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 9179016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org

Thank you.

Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-128-2006
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.