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BANGLADESH: Brutal torture of two young men by the Boalia police in Rajsahi

August 5, 2005

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

5 August 2005
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UA-133-2005: BANGLADESH: Brutal torture of two young men by the Boalia police in Rajsahi

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

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the brutal torture of Azizur Rahman Shohel and his younger brother Atiquer Rahman Jewel by the Boalia police in Rajsahi District, Bangladesh on 27 July 2005. The victims were not only beaten with batons but were also given electric shocks. The police also reportedly asked for money from the victims' family.  

Moreover, the Boalia police made false charges against Shohel and Jewel to cover up their illegal act after the torture incident was highlighted in the media. Due to severity of their condition, the two victims are now being treated at the Rajsahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) under police custody.

Such brutal torture and police corruption is not uncommon in Bangladesh. However, its continuation indicates that the Bangladesh government as well as the police department is not committed to preventing police atrocities and promoting human rights.

Your urgent action is thus needed to pressure the Bangladesh government to conduct an immediate investigation into this case and to take effective steps to stop further torture and corruption by the police.

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

Name of the victims:
1. Azizur Rahman Shohel, final year student of the mathematics department at the Rajsahi College
2. Atiquer Rahman Jewel, second year student of the history department at the Rajsahi College
* 'They are the sons of Abdur Rashid and reside in Puratan Bilsimla area, Boalia Police Station, Rajsahi, Bangladesh
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Sub Inspector (SI) Hafizur of the Boalia Police Station
2. Sub Inspector (SI) Netai
3. Other police constables  
Date of incident: Arrested and severely tortured on 27 July 2005 and are at Rajsahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) under police custody up to now
Place of incident: Boalia Police Station

Case details:

Abdur Rahman runs a private student dormitory in Rajsahi District and two students named Rashid and Rubel rented one room in this dormitory. On 27 July 2005, Abdur Rahman's two sons, Azizur Rahman Shohel and Atiquer Rahman Jewel had a minor clash with Rashid and Rubel, who then complained against the brothers at the Boalia Police Station. When the police came to investigate the incident, they had an argument with the two brothers and took them to the police station. Before leaving however, the police demanded money from their family, which was not given. This was about 9:00pm on July 27.

At the Boalia Police Station, after blindfolding Shohel and Jewel, the police allegedly assaulted the brothers with batons and kicked and punched them. In addition, the police also administered electric shocks to the victims.

The next morning (July 28), Shohel and Jewel were taken to the Rajsahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) for treatment, where were admitted as patients when their condition turned critical. They are still under treatment at the RMCH under police custody. Shohel and Jewel say that they were tortured by Sub Inspector (SI) Hafizur and Netai along with other several police constables. Higher police officials reportedly visited them but no action has yet been taken against the alleged perpetrators.

Although the police reportedly came to investigate the allegation made by Rashid and Rubel, they did not register any complaint against the victims when they arrested them. However, when the brutal torture was highlighted in the newspapers, the police allegedly fabricated charges against Shohel and Jewel of snatching away the policemen's arms and brandishing sharp weapons.

The AHRC is deeply concerned by this serious torture against civilians by the Bangladesh police, particularly the routine use of electric shocks, which the police use to obtain confessions. In addition, the Bangladesh police is well known for its corruption; Transparency International (TI) had earlier identified Bangladesh as the world's most corrupt country for four consecutive years, with its police being the most corrupt public institution.  


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

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

Re: BANGLADESH: Brutal torture of two young men by the Boalia police in Rajsahi

Name of the victims:
1) Azizur Rahman Shohel, 2) Atiquer Rahman Jewel (They are the sons of Abdur Rashid and reside in Puratan Bilsimla area, Boalia Police Station, Rajsahi, Bangladesh)
Alleged perpetrators:
1) Sub Inspector (SI) Hafizur, 2) SI Netai, 3) Other several police constables  
Date of incident: Arrested and severely tortured on 27 July 2005 and are at Rajsahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) under police custody up to now
Place of incident: Boalia Police Station

I am gravely disturbed to hear that the two young men named above were brutally tortured by the Boalia police on 27 July 2005. The police also tortured the victims using electric shocks. The alleged reason for this inhuman act was that the victims' family did not give the requisite bribe to the police.  

I was also informed that the police fabricated charges against the victims after the torture was highlighted in the newspaper. Now the two victims are being treated at the Rajsahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) under police custody.

It is disheartening to note that the Bangladesh authorities are not taking any serious steps to end police torture. In fact, impunity granted to police officers by their superiors who either ignore custodial torture or take symbolic actions merely to pacify criticism, encourages further police brutality.

I therefore urge you to conduct an inquiry into this case immediately. The alleged perpetrators must be arrested and brought before court forthwith. I also urge you to investigate the allegation of fabricating charges against the victims and take appropriate steps to release them accordingly. I further urge you to ensure that the victims are given complete medical care by the state. For their security, I also urge you to provide full protection to the victims and their family while the investigation is going on. Lastly, I urge you to put your efforts to eliminating the high level of corruption within the Bangladesh police force.  

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

3. 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

4. Police Commissioner
Rajsahi Metropolitan Police
Rajsahi, Bangladesh
Tel: +880 721 761496/ 776386 or 761330
Fax: +880 721 773052

5. Deputy Inspector of Police (DIG)
Rajsahi range
Rajsahi, Bangladesh
Tel: +880 721 772309/ 811077 or 811088
Fax: +880 721 775444

6. Superintendent of Police
District Police Office
Rajsahi, Bangladesh
Tel: +880 721 772250,
Fax: +880 721 775626

7. District Commissioner (DC)
Rajsahi, Bangladesh.
Tel: +880 721 772040/ 772050
Fax: +880 721 775477

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 22 917 9016 (general)


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-133-2005
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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.