Home / News / Urgent Appeals / BANGLADESH: An elderly woman is tortured to death by the Savar police in Dhaka
 

BANGLADESH: An elderly woman is tortured to death by the Savar police in Dhaka

July 5, 2006

[NOTICE: To facilitate your intervention of the urgent appeals issued by the AHRC, we have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include available e-mail addresses of most of the Bangladesh authorities. We humbly encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Bangladesh authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

6 July 2006
-----------------------------------
UA-219-2006: BANGLADESH: An elderly woman is tortured to death by the Savar police in Dhaka

BANGLADESH: Torture; extra-judicial killings; impunity; collapse of rule of law
------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a sixty-five year-old woman named Mrs. Nayan Banu was beaten to death by three police men from the Savar Police Station at the victim's house in Dhaka District on 2 July 2006. She was allegedly killed because she asked for the identity of a plain-clothed police team that came to her house to look for her son. More seriously, the police refused to record this murder case and have not taken any serious action to arrest the perpetrators. Even though the authorities have suspended all three perpetrators from service, none of them have yet been arrested.

On 16 June 2006, Mr. Montu Mian of Nikrail village lodged a kidnapping case with the Savar Police Station against seven persons regarding the elopement of his teenaged daughter Disari Akter Tumpa with her boyfriend Jewel two days before (June 14). Jewel and his father Mr. Badsha Mian were among the accused of the kidnap case filed by Mr. Mian.

At around 8:30pm on July 2, the Sub Inspector (SI) Mokhlesur Rahman, who was the investigation officer of the kidnapping case, went to Badsha's house with two police constables to arrest him.  Badsha was not home at that time. The three were armed and in civilian clothes. Badsha's sixty-five year-old mother Mrs. Nayan Banu did not allow the police to come into the house and asked for identification because she suspected that they were criminals. The police then became furious and began to brutally beat her to death.  The SI Mokhlesur kicked Mrs. Nayan on her abdomen. When she fell on the ground, the policemen proceeded to beat her with boots and rifles. As a result, Mrs. Nayan died at the scene. Several women from neighbouring houses came to rescue Mrs. Nayan and were also brutally beaten by the police, including Mrs. Momtaj Begum who was considerably injured.

Learning of the death of Mrs. Nayan, outraged villagers chased the policemen, who then fled by taxi. The people of the adjacent areas started a demonstration protesting the victim's death the same night. Then, the Upazilla Nirbahi Officer (UNO), Mr. Salahuddin Nagri, and the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of the Savar Circle, Mr. Saidur Rahman, visited the place of the incident late at night and assured the villagers that the alleged perpetrators would be punished exemplarily.

A First Class Magistrate of the Dhaka Judge's Court, Mrs. Suraya Parvin Shelly, prepared a inquest report on the victim's body. The inquest report mentioned that the signs of injuries were found on the head, abdomen and on the back of the dead body. The doctors of the Forensic Medicine department of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) have conducted the post mortem of which the report has not yet been revealed. The Second Officer of the Saver police station, SI Mr. Mortuza Kabir, lodged an 'Unnatural Death' (UD) case (Case No.: 24/2006) regarding this incident on July 3.

The victim's son, Mr. Badsha Mian alleges that the Savar police refused to record his complaint regarding the murder of his mother on July 4. They will go to court and seek justice regarding the incidence. The Savar police recorded the compliant as a General Diary (GD), number 192, instead of a First Information Report (FIR).

The Officer-in-Charge (OC), Mr. Akhtaruzzaman, explains that the UD case will be turned into a murder case if the post-mortem report asserts the death as a homicide. The key perpetrator, SI Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, and the two constables were suspended from their duties by the authorities. However, none of the three perpetrators have yet been arrested. The victim's family and the villagers demanded an arrest and trial of the alleged perpetrators saying that 'suspension is nothing but an eyewash'. 

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and urge them to ensure a fair and impartial investigation into this case. The alleged perpetrators must be held accountable for their actions. Please also urge the Government of Bangladesh to pay appropriate compensation to the family of the victim. The security of the victim's family must be ensured.

To support this appeal, please click:

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: An elderly woman beaten to death by the Savar police in Dhaka

Name of victim:
1. Mrs. Nayan Banu, aged 65, resided in Bagmibari village, under the Savar Police Station in Dhaka District, Bangladesh (killed)
2. Mrs. Mamtaj Begum (55), resides in Bagmibari village (injured)
Names of the alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, the Sub Inspector of Police attached to the Savar Police Station in Dhaka district
2. Mr. Alim, the police constable attached to the Savar Police Station
3. Mr. Monnaf, the police constable attached to the Savar Police Station
Place of incident: The victim's house in Bagmibari village
Date of incident: 2 July 2006, at around 8:30pm

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding a killing of an elderly woman who was beaten to death by the Savar police on 2 July 2006. The incident took place at the victim's house in Akrain village under Savar Police Station in Dhaka District, Bangladesh. I am also shocked to know that the victim was killed only because she attempted to ask identification of the police who armed and were in civilian clothes.  

Detailed information of case is as follows.

On 16 June 2006, Mr. Montu Mian of Nikrail village lodged a kidnapping case with the Savar Police Station against seven persons regarding the elopement of his teenaged daughter Disari Akter Tumpa with her boyfriend Jewel two days before (June 14). Jewel and his father Mr. Badsha Mian were among the accused of the kidnap case filed by Mr. Mian. On July 2, at around 8:30 pm, a three policemen including Sub Inspector (SI), Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, who was the investigation officer of the kidnapping case, came to Badsha's house to arrest him. Badsha's 65 year-old mother, Mrs. Nayan Banu, objected to the police raid because the men did not produce identification, were armed and in civilian clothes. The police then became violent with the elderly woman. SI Mokhlesur kicked Nayan on her abdomen. When she fell down on the ground the policemen proceeded to beat her with boots and riffles. As a result, Mrs. Nayan died at the scene. The women from the neighbouring houses, who came to rescue Mrs. Nayan, were also brutally beaten by the police. Among them was Mrs. Momtaj Begum who received considerable injuries.

Upon learning the incident, the people of the adjacent areas held a demonstration in the same night and the Upazilla Nirbahi Officer (UNO), Mr. Salahuddin Nagri, and the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of the Savar Circle, Mr. Saidur Rahman, assured the villagers that the alleged perpetrators would be punished exemplarily. 

I have also learned that the inquest report prepared by a First Class Magistrate of the Dhaka Judge's Court, Mrs. Suraya Parvin Shelly indicated that the signs of injuries were found on the head, abdomen and on the back of the victim's body. The doctors of the Forensic Medicine department of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) have conducted the post mortem of which the report has not yet been revealed. The Second Officer of the Saver police station, SI Mr. Mortuza Kabir, lodged an 'Unnatural Death' (UD) case (number: 24/2006) regarding this incident on July 3.  However, the victim's son, Mr. Badsha Mian alleges that the Savar police refused to record his complaint regarding the murder of his mother on July 4. The Savar police only recorded the compliant as a General Diary (GD), number 192, instead of a First Information Report (FIR).

Meanwhile, the key perpetrator, SI Mr. Mokhlesur Rahman, and the two constables were suspended from their duties by the authorities. However, none of them have yet been arrested. The family of the deceased and the villagers demand an arrest and trial of the alleged perpetrators saying that 'suspension is nothing but an eyewash'. 

In light of this, I strongly urge you to ensure an impartial investigation into the actions of the police officer and other alleged perpetrators. If the alleged perpetrators are found guilty, then they must be held accountable for the crimes they committed. Appropriate compensation must be paid to the victims for the injuries that they have suffered.

I trust your intervention will be forthcoming.

Yours sincerely,
 
-----------------------------

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

2. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babor MP
State Minister
The Ministry of Home Affairs
The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7169069 (O) or 8359000 (R)
Fax: +880 2 7160405, +880 2 7164788

3. 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

4. Mr. A J Mohammad Ali
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562868
Fax: +880 2 9561568

5. Mr. Anwarul Iqbal
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562054 or 7176451 or 7176677 (O), +880 2 8362552 or 8362553 (R)
Fax: +880 2 9563362 or 9563363

6. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Dhaka Range
Bangladesh Police
Office of the DIG of Dhaka Range
Segun Bagicha, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH

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 VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
Email: vbirga@ohchr.org / urgent-action@ohchr.org 

9. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org


Thank you.

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


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-219-2006
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.