Home / News / Urgent Appeals / UPDATE (Bangladesh): Ongoing struggle for two businessmen arbitrarily arrested, tortured and detained by the army in Khulna district
 

UPDATE (Bangladesh): Ongoing struggle for two businessmen arbitrarily arrested, tortured and detained by the army in Khulna district

January 29, 2007

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

29 January 2007

[RE: UP-232-2006: BANGLADESH: Police investigate the alleged harassment of Muzibur Rahman by the DB police in Khulna; UA-367-2006: BANGLADESH: A man arbitrarily arrested and intimidated by the Detective Branch Police of Khulna]
------------------------------------------------------
UP-011-2007: BANGLADESH: Ongoing struggle for two businessmen arbitrarily arrested, tortured and detained by the army in Khulna district

BANGLADESH: Arbitrary arrest; torture; detention; harassment; denial of adequate medical treatment; collapse of rule of law
------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the second arbitrary arrest of a businessman named Muzibur Rahman and his relative Mr. Muzibur by the military personnel at the Paikgachha Upazilla (sub-district) of Khulna district on 23 January 2007. They had been arbitrary arrested and received threats and intimidation the Detective Branch (DB) Police and the Paikgachha police in Khulna district on 2 November 2006 (See further: UA-367-2006; UP-232-2006).  An army team allegedly commanded by Major Mr. Mizan arrested Mr. Muzibur from the Paikgachha Magistrate Court area, while simultaneously arresting the victim's relative Mr. Wahed from his shrimp cultivation project at Kamarerabad village of the Paikgachha Upazilla.  Both Mr. Muzibur and Mr. Wahed were tortured by the military at scene of arrest. They were then transferred and tortured at the temporary army camp at the Lona Pani Kendra (Saline Water Fisheries Research Institute) in Paikgachha. Due to the severe torture, Mr. Muzibur cannot move his right leg and Mr. Wahed has lost strength in the lower part of his body. They remain handcuffed to their hospital beds and are under police protection. Their families have been denied access and the victims fear for their lives, while the government authorities have not taken any action against the alleged perpetrators.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

On 23 January 2007 at around 12:15 pm, a military unit arrived at the Paikgachha Magistrate Court area accompanied by a man named Shafikul Islam. Mr. Islam has had a land dispute with Mr. Rahman and as a result both parties have several cases against each other pending in the courts. The army then arrested Mr. Muzibur Rahman without any legal grounds from the Court area. The soldiers started beating him with Goran sticks (batons made from a special type of tree grown in the Sundarban forests), boots and fists.  Mr. Muzibur was then tied with rope and taken to the temporary army camp situated at the Lona Pani Motso Gobeshana (Saline Water Fisheries Research Institute) at the Paikgachha town. In the camp he was interrogated and tortured again by the soldiers. When Muzibur's health condition began deteriorating as a result of torture, the army admitted him to the Paikgachha Upazilla Health Complex at around 10:00 pm.

Meanwhile at around 4:00 pm on 23 January 2007, the army personnel arrested Mr. Muzibur's relative Mr. Waheduzzaman from his "Chingri Gher" (shrimp cultivation project) which is situated at Kamarerabad village and is located 8 kilometers away from Paikgachha town. Mr. Wahed was also beaten by the military with Goran stick, boots and fists. Like Mr. Muzibur, Mr. Wahed was tied up with a rope, picked up in an army vehicle and taken to the camp at the Lona Pani Kendra (Saline Water Fisheries Research Institute) where he was tortured there again in the night. The following morning (January 24) at around 8:00 am, Wahed was also transferred to the Paikgachha Upazilla Health Complex.

Both, Muzibur and Wahed are guarded by the Paikgachha police at the hospital. On January 25 at around 9:00 am, the police took them to the police station. Having failed to frame the victims with any specific charge, the police attempted to produce them before the Magistrate Court under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. After about an hour they were both sent to the Paikgachha hospital where Muzibur and Wahed continue to be handcuffed to hospital beds under and remain under police custody. 

According to Mr. Muzibur's relatives, both Muzibur and Wahed have not received adequate medical treatment at the Paikgachha Health Complex, while under police custody. Then, the relatives hired a medical doctor namely Mr. Jishnu Pado Mukherjee, in-charge of the Kopilmuni Hospital that is located 10 kilometer far away from Paikgachha), to treat the victims by their own costs.

The relatives of Muzibur and Wahed allege that the army is acting under the influence of Muzibur's business rival Shafikul Islam.  They claim that Mr. Islam is an ally with police officers from the Detective Branch (DB) of Khulna who was involved with an earlier arrest of Mr. Muzibur on 2 November 2006 (See further: UA-367-2006). The relatives also allege that Mr. Muzibur cannot move his right leg while Mr. Wahed has lost strength in the lower part of his body from waist down. Their physical condition is getting worse and they are not receiving adequate medical treatment for the injuries they sustained.  They fear that due to the lack of proper medical treatment the victims may succumb to their injuries in custody of the law-enforcing agents. The families of Muzibur and Wahed are also living in extreme fear since they may experience future harassment by the army and other law-enforcing agents.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

This is another instance of brutality committed by the army in Bangladesh that is rampant throughout the country. The government of Bangladesh is proud of its army for its so called professionalism at home and abroad for their role in UN Peacekeeping Missions. Military personnel enjoy total impunity for their acts that continuously disrupt Bangladeshi society. Arbitrarily arresting thousands of innocent people, torturing and detaining them under the objective of hunting down a few miscreants have become common. Neither the government nor the army holds any accountability to any institution of the country. Besides, a culture of impunity is well cultivated in Bangladesh. For instance, the Indemnity Act-2003 was legislated in the parliament after the disastrous military crackdown in the name of Operation Clean Heart (OCH), which resulted in more than 50 deaths "due to heart attack" and another 11,000 arbitrary arrests and detentions over a period of 86 days. During this time only less than one thousand persons had criminal cases lodged against them. Many of the victims who experience brutality at the hands of the army are physically and psychologically handicapped forever. Their families have been financially crippled and socially stigmatized so that they cannot recover for generations.

This man made disaster has been started in the country since the proclamation of the state of emergency on 11 January 2007. The armed forces commit roughly one thousand arrests every 24 hours in which only a very few of those detained are miscreants or convicted criminals. Most of the victims of arbitrary arrest are brutally tortured by the soldiers at the scene of arrest, on the street, on the way to military camps as well as inside the camps. Many victims are implicated in pending cases and framed with fabricated charges.  When law-enforcers fail to bring any charges against the victims, they then send the arrested persons to the courts under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Finally, they are detained in prison.

The Magistrates of the country are routinely endorsing arbitrary arrests and torture via the armed forces. The Magistrate Courts order the arrested persons sent to jail instead of granting them bail. The Magistrates do not consider whether the persons arrested has any evidence against him for committing a crime or whether the persons were brutalized by the alleged perpetrators. They also do not consider whether the person has received or is going to receive adequate medical treatment for the injuries sustained due to torture. The Magistrates have no eyes to witness the visible injuries.  They do not listen to the victims of this barbarity and do not understand the financial burden that this causes for them or their families. 

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please urgently send letters to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and urge them to investigate the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of Muzibur and Wahed by the army in Paikgachha of Khulna district.  Please also urge the government to take strong disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrators.

Sample Letter:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: Ongoing struggle for two businessmen arbitrarily arrested, tortured and detained by the army in Paikgachha, Khulna district 

Name of the victims:
1. Mr. Muzibur Rahman, aged 40, a businessman, son of Mr. Munsop Sana, living in a house at the Court Road in the Paikgachha town under the Paikgachha police station in Khulna
2. Mr. Waheduzzaman, aged 36, a businessman, son of Mr. Nazmul Morol, living in Manot village under the Paikgachha police station in Khulna district
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Mizanur Rahman, Major of the Bangladesh Army deployed as the Commander of the team at Paikgachha of the Khulna district
2. Mr. Tajul Islam, Warrant Officer of the Bangladesh Army deployed as the Commander of the team at Paikgachha of the Khulna district
3. Personnel of the Bangladesh Army deployed as the Commander of the team at Paikgachha of the Khulna district
4. Mr. Shafikul Islam, former tenant of the victim, who has a land dispute with Mr. Muzibur Rahman (the victim No. 1)
Date of the recent incident: 23 January 2007
Place of recent incident: Army Camp temporarily established at the Lona Pani Kendra (Saline Water Fisheries Research Institute) in Paikgachha, Khulna district

I am writing to draw your attention to the alleged second arbitrary arrest, torture and detention of the two businessmen mentioned above by the army in the Paikgachha Upazilla in Khulna district on 23 January 2007.

According to the information I have received, on 23 January 2007 at around 12:15 pm, a military unit arrived at the Paikgachha Magistrate Court area accompanied by a man named Shafikul Islam. Mr. Islam has had a land dispute with Mr. Rahman and as a result both parties have several cases against each other pending in the courts. The army then arrested Mr. Muzibur Rahman without any legal grounds from the Court area. The soldiers started beating him with Goran sticks (batons made from a special type of tree grown in the Sundarban forests), boots and fists.  Mr. Muzibur was then tied with rope and taken to the temporary army camp situated at the Lona Pani Motso Gobeshana (Saline Water Fisheries Research Institute) at the Paikgachha town. In the camp he was interrogated and tortured again by the soldiers. When Muzibur's health condition began deteriorating as a result of torture, the army admitted him to the Paikgachha Upazilla Health Complex at around 10:00 pm.

I have learned that at around 4:00 pm on 23 January 2007, the army arrested Mr. Muzibur's relative Mr. Waheduzzaman from his "Chingri Gher" (shrimp cultivation project) which is situated at Kamarerabad village and is located 8 kilometers away from Paikgachha town. Mr. Wahed was also beaten by the military with Goran stick, boots and fists. Like Mr. Muzibur, Mr. Wahed was tied up with a rope, picked up in an army vehicle and taken to the camp at the Lona Pani Kendra (Saline Water Fisheries Research Institute) where he was tortured there again in the night. The following morning (January 24) at around 8:00 am, Wahed was also transferred to the Paikgachha Upazilla Health Complex.
 
I have been informed that both, Muzibur and Wahed were guarded by the Paikgachha police at the hospital. On January 25 at around 9:00 am, the police took them to the police station. Having failed to frame the victims with any specific charge, the police attempted to produce them before the Magistrate Court under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. After about an hour they were both sent to the Paikgachha hospital where Muzibur and Wahed continue to be handcuffed to hospital beds under and remain under police protection.

I have also learned that the relatives of Muzibur and Wahed allege that the army is acting under the influence of Muzibur's business rival Shafikul Islam. They claim that Mr. Islam is an ally with police officers from the Detective Branch (DB) of Khulna who was involved with an earlier arrest of Mr. Muzibur on 2 November 2006. The relatives also allege that Mr. Muzibur cannot move his right leg while Mr. Wahed has lost strength in the lower part of his body from waist down. Their physical condition is getting worse and they are not receiving adequate medical treatment for the injuries they sustained.  They fear that due to the lack of proper medical treatment the victims may succumb to their injuries in custody of the law-enforcing agents. The families of Muzibur and Wahed are also living in extreme fear since they may experience future harassment by the army and other law-enforcing agents.

I am also aware that the present armed forces crackdown is causing innumerable arbitrary arrests, torture and detention of innocent people throughout the whole country. Many of them have been physically and psychologically tormented due to torture as it had also occurred during Operation Clean Heart in late 2002 and early 2003. I am seriously worried that the Government of Bangladesh provides impunity instead of punishment to the alleged perpetrators of such gross violations of human rights, which is absolutely contradictory to the presence of Bangladesh in the UN Human Rights Council and as a state party to the UN Convention against Torture (CAT).

I am further shocked that the Magistrate Courts do not grant bail for the victims of military brutality. I have been informed that in most cases the victims are being produced before the Magistrate Courts under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Magistrates have been detaining the persons in prisons. Such culture of arbitrary arrests, torture and detentions must be changed.

I therefore strongly request that you to start an immediate inquiry into the alleged incident of arbitrary arrest, torture and detention by the army of Paikgachha in Khulna. If the allegation is proven true, I urge you to take strong disciplinary and legal action against those responsible according to the laws. I further request that you release the two victims without delay and take proper action to ensure security for the victims and their families, while protecting them from further harassment and threats from the armed forces or the police. The accused military and police officers including Major Mr. Mizan and Warrant Officer Mr. Tajul Islam should be suspended from their job while the investigation is on-going. I also urge you to ensure that the victim is adequately compensated and that adequate medical treatment for their injuries. 

Unless strict discipline and good order are not established within the law-enforcement agencies and security forces are made accountable without impunity, such violations will be repeated and innocent people will suffer. Such reform can only begin with enforcement of strict punishment against the alleged perpetrators committing the crimes. Reform must begin with this case.

I look forward to your urgent intervention in this matter.
 
Yours sincerely,


---------------

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

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

2. Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed
Chief Adviser
Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Chief Advisor
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 02 8828160-79, 9888677
Fax: +88 02 8113244 or 3243 or 1015 or 1490
E-mail: pm@pmobd.org or psecretary@pmobd.org (to the Secretary)

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

4. 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. Lt. General Moin U Ahmed
Chief of Army Staff
Bangladesh Army
Army Headquarters
Dhaka Cantonment
Dhaka
BANGLADESH

6. Mr. Khoda Bokhs Chowdhury
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters'
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562054 or 7176451 or 7176677
Fax: +88-02-9563362 or 9563363

7. Professor 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 (ATTENTION: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)

8. Ms. Leila Zerrougui
Working Group on arbitrary detention
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTENTION: WORKING GROUP ARBITRARY DETENTION)

9. Mr. Leandro Despouy
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Att: Sonia Cronin
Room: 3-060
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9160
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR INDEPENDENCE JUDGES & LAWYERS)


Thank you.

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


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-011-2007
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.