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UPDATE (Bangladesh): Court rejected bail petition of a man who made death threats to Santa's husband

February 28, 2007

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

28 February 2007

[RE: UP-024-2006: BANGLADESH: Torture victim Santa and her husband are under extreme death threats; UP-207-2006: BANGLADESH: Court dismissed Santa's another case against the policemen; UP-183-2006: BANGLADESH: Santa's life is under extreme threat of death now; UP-181-2006:Santa’s family facing harassment by the Wazirpur police in Barisal; UP-114-2006: Safety measures must be taken to ensure the lives of Shahin Sultana Santa and her husband; UP-112-2006: Court dismisses charges against alleged perpetrators; UP-101-2006: Judicial Probe Commission ignores specific complaint against the Mohammadpur police; UP-096-2006: Court orders supplementary investigation following disputed Judicial Probe Commission report; UP-083-2006: Police defy High Court order by continuing to make threats; UP-062-2006: Harassment and threats continue towards victim despite a High Court ruling ordering the alleged perpetrators to stop; UP-058-2006: Police seriously intimidate and threaten victim, her husband and her witnesses; UA-105-2006: Pregnant woman tortured by police in Dhaka]
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UP-026-2007: BANGLADESH: Court rejected bail petition of a man who made death threats to Santa's husband 

BANGLADESH: Denial of justice to torture victim; violation of right to fair trial; constant threats and intimidation; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is happy to inform you that the Magistrate of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court has rejected the bail petition of Mr. Jafor Mollah on 26 February 2007. Mr. Jafor has made several death threats to Mr. Atinur, the husband of torture victim, Mrs. Shahin Sultana Santa (See further: UP-024-2007). Thank you for your great support on this matter. However, we were further informed that some top governmental officials are allegedly pressuring the Investigation Officer of the Shahbagh police to submit a final report in favour of Mr. Jafor so that charges against him can be withdrawn. We again call for your strong intervention in this case to stop unlawful influence upon the investigation officer. The AHRC is gravely concerned about the security of Mrs. Santa and Mr. Atinur, if Mr. Jafor is discharged and then released from jail.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

According to the latest information we have received, Mr. Md. Mamun-Al-Rashid, the Metropolitan Magistrate of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court (CMM) of Dhaka has rejected the bail petition of Mr. Jafor Mollah on 26 February 2007. Mr. Jafor has been charged in regards to the death treats against Mr. Atinur Rahman and the attempt to extract the money from him (case no. 39, dated: 29/01/2007 at the Shabagh police station).

On February 25, a lawyer submitted a bail petition on behalf of Mr. Jafor, who was detained in the Dhaka Central Jail. However, Magistrate Mr. Shafik Anwar did not hear this bail petition on that day. On the following day on February 26, the lawyer filed the same bail petition before the CMM of Dhaka. Magistrate Mr. Md. Mamun-Al-Rashid however rejected the bail application of Mr. Jafor. This good news relieved Mr. Atinur Rahman for the time being. 

However, according to Mr. Atiur, he has learned that some top level government officials are allegedly pressurizing Sub Inspector Mr. Khairul Islam, who is the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case of Mr. Jafor at the Shabagh police station, to submit a final report in favour of Mr. Jafor to the court as early as possible so that Mr. Jafor can be discharged soon. Mrs. Santa and Mr. Atiur are still in fear of possible harassment and threats on them by the allies of Mr. Jafor.

Meantime, Mrs. Santa's case filed against police officers responsible for her torture has been dragged on in the court without any progress.

To see details of the original incident of torture and further development of this case, see also: UA-105-2006, UP-058-2006, UP-062-2006, UP-083-2006, UP-096-2006, UP-101-2006, UP-112-2006, UP-114-2006 and UP-181-2006.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and demand their urgent intervention into this case.

Sample letter:

BANGLADESH: Court rejected bail petition of a man who made death threats to Santa's husband 

Name of the victims:
1. Mrs. Shahin Sultalna Santa, wife of Mr. Atiur Rahman, living in house no. 7/A, road no. 10, Mohammadia Housing Society under the Mohammadpur police station in Dhaka
2. Mr. Atiur Rahman, a lawyer by profession and husband of Mrs. Shahin Sultana Santa, who was brutally tortured by the police in Dhaka, living in house no. 7/A, road no. 10, Mohammadia Housing Society under the Mohammadpur police station in Dhaka
Alleged perpetrator (for the recent death threats): Mr. Jafor Mollah, Chairman of the Satila Union Council under the Uzirpur police station in Barisal district and charge sheeted accused in number of criminal cases under trial at the Session Judge's Courts of different districts of the country

I am sure that you will be aware of the torture case of Mrs. Santa on 12 March 2006, which was well publicized by the local media. I am pleased to learn that on 26 February 2007 the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court (CMM) of Dhaka has rejected the bail petition of Mr. Jafor Mollah, who has been charged in regards to the death treats against Mr. Atinur Rahman and the attempt to extract the money from him (case no. 39, dated: 29/01/2007 at the Shabagh police station).

While this will be a relieve to Mr. Atinur Rahman for the time being, I am concerned to received the information that some top level government officials are allegedly pressurizing Sub Inspector Mr. Khairul Islam, who is the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case of Mr. Jafor at the Shabagh police station, to submit a final report in favour of Mr. Jafor as early as possible so that Mr. Jafor can be discharged soon. I also want to inform you that the case filed by Mrs. Santa against the police officers responsible for her torture are in no process in the court, while no action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators who made numerous threats to the couple. For these reasons, Mrs. Santa and Mr. Atiur are still in fear of their lives and in fact Mr. Atiur is still into hiding.

I therefore request you to inquire about this allegation and ensure that the IO Mr. Khairul can perform his duty without any unlawful influence. Mr. Jafor should not be granted for bail considering his constant deaths treats and harassment against Mrs. Santa's couple. I also request you to take adequate action to ensure the speedy and fair trials into Mrs. Santa's case. I further urge the Government to establish an independent avenue where crimes allegedly committed by state actors are fairly and properly investigated. 

Yours truly,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed
Chief Adviser
Government of the People's Republic of
Office of the Chief Adviser
Old Parliament House,
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 8828160-79, 9888677
Fax: +880 2 8113244 or 3243 or 1015 or 1490

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

3. Barrister Fida M Kamal
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 02 9562868
Fax: +88 02 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)
Police Headquarters’
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 02 9562054(O)/ +88 02 7176451/ +880 2 7176677
Fax: +88 02 9563362 (O)/ +88 02 9563363

6. Mr. Nayeem Ahmed
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)

7. Mr. Shahidul Islam Bhuyan
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Prosecution)
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) Court of Dhaka
Office of the DC Prosecution
CMM Court Premises
Johnson Road, Dhaka-1100
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7116188 (Off), +880 2 9880655 (Res)
Fax: +880 2 7114470
 
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 9179016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-026-2007
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.