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BANGLADESH: Protestors beaten by the police in Dhaka

May 8, 2006

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION-URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

9 May 2006
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UA-152-2006: BANGLADESH: Protestors beaten by the police in Dhaka

BANGLADESH: Arbitrary arrest; ill treatment; violence against women; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission has been informed that police assaulted a number of political activists and other demonstrators during a nationwide dawn-to-dusk strike and demonstration programme called by the 14 political opposition party alliance on 20 April 2006. Reports indicate that the police tortured some of the political activists, including women on the day of Hartal (Strike). Reports also indicate that some of the political activists were arrested by the police on the day before Hartal. The alliance of 14 political opposition parties, led by the Bangladesh Awami league, called the country–wide dawn-to-dusk Hartal to protest against the killing of 20 people by the police when they were demonstrating for the rural electrification in Chapianawabganj district.

The Alliance of the 14 political parties of Bangladesh called a dawn-to-dusk Hartal on 20 April 2006 protesting against the death of 20 people at Kansat under Shibganj police station of Chapainawabganj district (please see UA-013-2006; UA-041-2006; UP-013-2006; UP-020-2006, UP-025-2006 and UP-036-2006). A number of protestors were beaten by the police of Dhaka Metropolitan police (DMP) during the demonstration. Among them, Ms. Nazma Hossain Ratna, who is the Joint Secretary of Awami Jubo Mohila League (Youth Women League), a political wing of the mainstream opposition Bangladesh Awami League, based in Dhaka Sadar Police Station unit's jurisdiction, has stated that the police attacked the demonstration at around 2:15pm. During the attack several female demonstrators were injured by the Police. Ms. Nazma herself reports having sustained considerable injuries to her knee joint, back and waist. She alleges that the police beat other demonstrators and also used abusive language. She was arrested and put in a police van, but released later following pressure by the demonstrators. She received medical treatment for her injuries at a private clinic in Dhaka and later at her home.

Shumi Aktar, who is the Joint Secretary of the Awami Juba Mohila League in the Demra Police Station unit's jurisdiction, alleges that she was also beaten by the police while taking part in a procession at Rashel Square in Dhanmondi at around 11:00am. She reported that when police beat her she fell to the ground. She suffered injuries to her hand, back and waist.

Another political activist Mr. Mohoshin Hossain, who is a member of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), alleges that he was beaten by police in Mirpur Road while taking part in a demonstration. The policemen reportedly beat him to the ground and continued beating him with sticks. He reportedly sustained injuries to his hand, legs, back and waist.

Mr. Rafiqul Islam Raza, who is a leader of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), alleges that the police in the front of the JSD office beat him. He suffered injuries to his hands and legs.

The police, however, have denied the allegations related to the beatings of the opposition political activists during the strike. The Officer-in-Charge of the Danmondi police station and Mirpur police station denied the allegations when contacted by a fact-finding team. 

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send letters to the Inspector General of police and the other persons listed below expressing your concerns about the arbitrary arrest and beating of political activists and other demonstrators by the police of Bangladesh. The concerned government agencies must be urged to initiate thorough and impartial investigations into these events. All persons being detained arbitrarily as a result of these events must be released immediately in the absence of valid legal charges against them. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and adequate reparation must be provided to the victims.

Suggested letter:

Dear ______________,

BANGLADESH: Protestors beaten by the police in Dhaka

Names of the victims:
1. Ms. Nazma Hossain Ratna, Join Secretary of Awami Jubo Mohila League (Youth Women League) a political wing of the mainstream opposition Bangladesh Awami League, based in South in Dhaka Sadar Police Station unit's jurisdiction area, Dhaka
2. Somi Aktar, Join Secretary of the Awami Jubo Mohila League in the Demra Police Station unit's jurisdiction area, Dhaka
3. Mr. Mohoshin Hossain, member of Jasod, Dhaka
4. Mr. Rafiqul Islam Raza, leader of Jasod, Dhaka.
Name of alleged perpetrators: Members of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police attached to different police stations in Dhaka
Date of incident: 20 April 2006

I am writing to you in order to draw your attention to allegations of beatings and the arbitrary arrest of demonstrators and political activists by members of the police in Dhaka during a strike programme on 20 April 2006.
 
According to the information that I have received, the Alliance of 14 opposition political parties declared a nationwide dawn-to-dusk ‘Hartal’ (strike) programme on April 20, to protest against the killing of 20 people by police when they demonstrated for rural electrification in Chapianawabganj district. The police reportedly physically assaulted demonstrators and political activists and arbitrarily arrested a number of them in order to repress the movement.

Among the victims, the police at Danmondi area beat Nazma Hossain Ratna, while she was taking part in a procession. She was arrested and put in a police van, but later released following pressure by the demonstrators. She received considerable injuries due to the beating by the police and is under treatment at her home.

Another victim, Shumi Aktar was beaten by the police in the Rashal Square in Dhanmondi area at around 11:00am on the same day, during a demonstration. She reported that when the police beat her she fell to the ground. She suffered injuries to her hand, back and waist. She has been receiving medical treatment at home. During the same incident male policemen used abusive language towards the women demonstrators.

In another case, Mr. Mohoshin Hossain was beaten by police in Mirpur Road while taking part in a demonstration. The policemen reportedly beat him to the ground and continued beating him with sticks. He reportedly sustained injuries to his hand, legs, back and waist.

I am aware that currently the victims are not receiving appropriate medical treatment for the injuries they have suffered.

In light of this, I urge you to commence an impartial and thorough investigation into these alleged incidents of beating and ill treatment without delay.  If it is found that the alleged perpetrators have committed offences against the victims, appropriate charges must be filed against them and they should be brought before a court of law. All measures should be taken to ensure that the trial is speedy. The victims should be provided with adequate reparation for the physical and mental sufferings that they have endured. 
 
I urge the Government of Bangladesh to enact domestic legislation declaring torture a crime. I am aware that the Bangladeshi government has acceded to the provisions of the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), but has thus far failed to enact laws in full conformity with the Convention.

I look forward to your urgent intervention in this matter

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

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

2. 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

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

4. Mr. Abdul Quayum
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters’
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562054(O)/ +88-02-7176451/ +88-02-7176677       
Fax: +88-02-9563362 (O)/ +88-02-9563363

5. Mr. SM Mizanur Rahman
Commissioner
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)
The DMP Headquarters
1, Shaheed Captain Monsur Ali Road
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-8322746 (O)/ +88-02- 8316248
Fax: +88-02-8322746 (O)

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

7. 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

8. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms. Vernonica Birga
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (Attn: Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women)
Email: lohanlon@ohchr.org

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-152-2006
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.