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BANGLADESH: Alleged brutal killing of a man by the RAB officers in Rajshahi

May 24, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

25 May 2007
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UA-170-2007: BANGLADESH: Alleged brutal killing of a man by the RAB officers in Rajshahi
      
BANGLADESH: Brutal assault by law-enforcement authorities; no rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) received information regarding a death of a 25-year-old man Quamrul Islam Majnu after allegedly being brutally assaulted by the members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in plainclothes on 19 May 2007. The victim was allegedly beaten with bamboo sticks by the RAB officers when he was guarding his lychee orchard in Chhoto Bongram Purbopara at around midnight, and his family and neighbours witnessed the incident. We were further informed that the victim’s brother received threats from the RAB officers to withdraw his police complaint lodged against the RAB officers who assaulted the victim to death. The suspected RAB officers are now under police custody.

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information we have received from a reliable source, at around 11:00pm on 18 May 2007, a 25 year-old orchard farmer Mr. Quamrul Islam Majnu was guarding the lychee orchard in Chhoto Bongram Purbopara, Bangladesh, with rickshaw pullers named Toufique and Rajib. A witness of the incident told our reliable source that about six members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-5) including Jaharul Islam and Ali Hossain who were in plain clothes approached the victim’s orchard when the victim was guarding there. These members of the RAB-5 then allegedly started to beat the victim with baton and iron pipe mercilessly and one of them kicked the victim’s chest with his boots and injured the victims severely. The RAB members also assaulted the two rickshaw pullers who were guarding the orchard with Quamrul.

Despite the repeated pleas of the victim’s family asking to stop beating the victim the RAB members did not stop beating Quamrul and started to hit his family members including the 50 year-old mother and a brother. He then allegedly died at the place where he had been beaten by the RAB officers. Soon after the incident, when the villagers started to gather at the site of the assault, the RAB members threatened to shoot the villagers.

While the RAB members were threatening the villagers, two buses, one black and one white bus came near the site with more than seven RAB members. According to the witnesses, the RAB officers dragged the body of Quamrul 60 to 70 yards from the site into one of the micro buses. The rickshaw pullers Toufique and Rajib were also taken into the micro bus with the body of Quamrul.

Quamrul was admitted to the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital at around 1:20am on the following day, however his death was declared by a doctor at the hospital shortly afterwards.

Later on May 19, a brother of the victim Piarul Islam Manjur lodged a case with the Boalia Police Station alleging that about six members of the RAB-5 including Zahrul Islam, Baser Ali and Ali Hossain who all are from Chapainawabganj village killed Quamrul on May 18. The police then registered a murder case against the RAB members involved in the assault of the victim under sections 323, 302, 201, 34 of the Penal Code. It has been reported that the investigation into this case has been started subsequently.

Later on the same day, the three perpetrators, Zahrul Islam, Baser Ali and Ali Hossain were arrested by the police and produced before the magistrate court. The three of them were then sent to jail by the decision of the Chief of the Metropolitan Magistrate Court on the same day.

Meanwhile, the brother of the victim, Piarul Islam, was told by the RAB officers that Quamrul died accidentally when the RAB was searching for a kidnapper called Kuddus Ali Mondol, and he should therefore come to an agreement when Pianul refused to make a compromise, he was threatened by the RAB officers, who said he would "face dire consequences."

On May 23, police submitted the autopsy report of the murder of Quamrul to the Rajshahi metropolitan court. The three doctors who examined the autopsy reported that the existence of several scars on the victim’s body including on his stomach were found and the death was caused due to a haemorrhage result in from his injuries, which are homicidal in nature. It has been reported that the autopsy report corroborated the investigation reported which was prepared by the first class magistrate Jonendranath Sarkar on May 20, which also noted innumerable torture marks on the victim’s body.
The deputy commissioner of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, Mahbubur Rahman, said in his statement that these reports proved that it was a murder and they will find the perpetrators to bring them before justice. It has been reported that the five-member committee that was set up for the investigation of this case by the members of the magistrate and intelligence director of the RAB headquarters will submit the new report on 26 May 2007.

However, the victim’s family had allegedly expressed their doubts towards the official investigation since none of family members of the victim or other witnesses were interviewed.

The RAB officials explained the incident as an operation for tracking down a group of kidnappers and the victim was fatally injured during clashes between the RAB officers and the kidnappers along with the villagers who took the side of the kidnappers. The RAB officials allegedly reported that the RAB officers rescued an officer Basirul Islam, who was allegedly kidnapped from the lychee orchard, the site of the incident.

The Commanding officer of the RAB Rajshahi, Colonel Shamsuzzaman Khan publicly stated that a probe body has been interrogating four RAB officers from Rajshahi Railway Colony Camp at RAB-5 headquarters in connection with the death of Quamrul. However, the name of the four RAB officers was not disclosed.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below and urge them to start an immediate and impartial investigation into this case. Please also urge them to give necessary assistance for the victim’s family to seek legal remedies. 

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: Alleged brutal killing of a man by the RAB officers in Rajshahi

Name of victim: Quamrul Islam Majnu, 25 year-old
Address of victim: Chhoto Bongram, Thana, Boyalia, Rajshahi district, Bangladesh
Alleged perpetrators: About six officers of the Rapid Action Battalion 5 of Rajshahi district, including Jaharul Islam and Ali Hossain
Date of the incident: At around 11:00pm on 18 May 2007

I am writing to express my deep concern about the alleged killing of a 25-year-old man by the members of the RAB-5 on 18 May 2007. According to the information we have received from a reliable source, at around 11:00pm on 18 May 2007, a 25 year-old orchard farmer Mr. Quamrul Islam Majnu was guarding the lychee orchard in Chhoto Bongram Purbopara, Bangladesh, with rickshaw pullers named Toufique and Rajib. A witness of the incident stated that about six members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-5) including Jaharul Islam and Ali Hossain who were in plainclothes approached the victim’s orchard when the victim was guarding it. These members of the RAB-5 then allegedly started to beat the victim with baton and GI pipe mercilessly and one of them kicked the victim’s chest with his boots and injured the victims severely. The RAB members also assaulted the two rickshaw pullers who were guarding the orchard with Quamrul.

I am informed that despite repeated pleas of the victim’s family to stop beating the victim the RAB members did not stop beating Quamrul and started to hit his family members including his 50-year-old mother and brother. He then allegedly died at the place where he had been beaten by the RAB officers. Soon after the incident, the villagers started to gather the site of brutal assault and the RAB members threatened the villagers to shoot. Then one black coloured and one white coloured micro bus came near the site with more than seven RAB members. According to the witnesses, the RAB officers dragged Quamrul’s body 60 to 70 yards into one of the micro buses. The rickshaw pullers Toufique and Rajib were also taken into the micro bus with the body of Quamrul.

Quamrul was admitted to the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital at around 1:20 am on the following day however his death was declared by doctor at the hospital shortly after he arrived at the hospital.

Later on May 19, a brother of the victim Piarul Islam Manjur lodged a case with the Boalia Police Station alleging that about six members of the RAB-5 including Zahrul Islam, Baser Ali and Ali Hossain who all are from Chapainawabganj village killed Quamrul on May 18. The police then registered a murder case against the RAB members involved in the assault of the victim under sections 323, 302, 201, 34 of the Penal Code. It has been reported that the investigation into this case has been started subsequently.

Later on the same day, the three perpetrators, Zahrul Islam, Baser Ali and Ali Hossain were arrested by the police and produced before the magistrate court. The three of them were then sent to jail by the decision of the Chief of the Metropolitan Magistrate Court on the same day.

Meanwhile, the brother of the victim, Piarul Islam, was told by the RAB officers that Quamrul died accidentally when the RAB was searching for a kidnapper called Kuddus Ali Mondol, and he should therefore come to an agreement when Pianul refused to make a compromise, he was threatened by the RAB officers, who said he would “face dire consequences.”

On May 23, police submitted the autopsy report of the murder of Quamrul to the Rajshahi metropolitan court. The three doctors who examined the autopsy reported that the existence of several scars on the victim’s body including on his stomach were found and the death was caused due to a haemorrhage result in from his injuries, which are homicidal in nature. It has been reported that the autopsy report corroborated the investigation reported which was prepared by the first class magistrate Jonendranath Sarkar on May 20, which also noted innumerable torture marks on the victim’s body.
The deputy commissioner of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, Mahbubur Rahman, said in his statement that these reports proved that it was a murder and they will find the perpetrators to bring them before justice. It has been reported that the five-member committee that was set up for the investigation of this case by the members of the magistrate and intelligence director of the RAB headquarters will submit the new report on 26 May 2007.

However, the victim’s family had allegedly expressed their doubts towards the official investigation since none of family members of the victim or other witnesses were interviewed.

I am further informed that the RAB officials explained the incident as an operation for tracking down a group of kidnappers and the victim was fatally injured during clashes between the RAB officers and the kidnappers along with the villagers who took the side of the kidnappers. The RAB officials allegedly reported that the RAB officers rescued an officer Basirul Islam, who was allegedly kidnapped from the lychee orchard, the site of the incident.

The Commanding officer of the RAB Rajshahi, Colonel Shamsuzzaman Khan publicly stated that a probe body has been interrogating four RAB officers from Rajshahi Railway Colony Camp at RAB-5 headquarters in connection with the death of Quamrul. However, the name of the four RAB officers was not disclosed.

I strongly condemn the RAB officers’ brutal violence that led to a civilian death, as well as the lack of a thorough investigation into the case. I believe that such irresponsible attitude of the RAB officials would not bring the country stability, on the contrary, it would further increase confusions among its citizens.

I therefore demand that a thorough and impartial investigation into this case be conducted immediately, and the alleged perpetrators should be brought to justice. I also urge that no impunity for the alleged perpetrators should be tolerated.

Lastly, I urge the government of Bangladesh to provide appropriate compensation and legal remedies to the victim’s family.

I look forward to your prompt responses into this important case.

Sincerely yours,

 

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Prof. Iajuddin Ahmed
President
People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangabhaban, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9568041, 7161501/A, 8311202/ 7161503/A
Fax: +880 2 9566242 or 9566593

2. Mr. Sayed J. R. Modassir Hossain
Chief Justice
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562792
Fax: +880 2 9565058

3. Mr. Fida M Kamal
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562868
Fax: +880 2 9561568

4. Barrister Moinul Hossain
Adviser
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-7160627 (O)
Fax: +88-02-7168557 (O)

5. Mr. Nur Mohammad
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters'
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562054 or 7176451 or 7176677
Fax: +880 2 9563362 or 9563363

6. Professor Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 9179016 ((ATTENTION: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-170-2007
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.