Home / News / Urgent Appeals / UPDATE (Bangladesh): Intelligence wing investigating into torture case
 

UPDATE (Bangladesh): Intelligence wing investigating into torture case

March 9, 2007

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

9 March 2007

[RE: UP-019-2007: BANGLADESH: Court granted bail to two torture victims; UP-015-2007: BANGLADESH: Prolonged and arbitrary detention of two torture victims; UP-011-2007: BANGLADESH: Ongoing struggle for two businessmen arbitrarily arrested, tortured and detained by the army in Khulna district; 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-033-2007: BANGLADESH: Intelligence wing investigating into torture case

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 that the government authorities have started an investigation into the case of two torture victims, Mr. Muzibur Rahman and Mr. Waheduzzaman, who were arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured by the army in Khulna district (For original urgent appeals, see: UP-019-2007; UP-015-2007; UP-011-2007; UA-367-2006; UP-232-2006). Over a two day inquiry, the investigating officers of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) interviewed the victims, medical doctors, lawyers and eye-witnesses. The AHRC is now urging all of our friends to please write to the Bangladesh government so that they publicly publish the investigative and punish the alleged perpetrators. 

UPDATED INFORMATION:

On 7 March 2007, two officers of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) agency went to Paikgachha upazilla in order to investigate the alleged torture case of Mr. Muzibur Rahman and Mr. Waheduzzaman. Although the two officers have not disclosed their true identities, one referred to himself as Mr. Abul Bashar while the other officer identified himself as Mr. Gazi of the NSI. The investigating team went to Mr. Wahed’s house in Malot village which is under the Paikgachha police station. They also talked to medical doctors from the Paikgachha Upazilla Health Complex, eyewitnesses, lawyers and the local police.

As Mr. Muzibur was away from home, the NSI team informed his family to meet with the investigators in their office at Khalishpur in Khulna city. The two member team left Paikgachha on the afternoon of March 8. It has been learned that Mr. Muzibur then went and met the investigators in their Khalishpur office as soon as he received the message. Local sources also reported that the NSI investigating team mentioned the AHRC’s intervention which urged government authorities to investigate the alleged torture.

The victims and local activists are concerned that the publication will not be publicly published and that they will not be able to take action against the alleged perpetrators. It is a general belief Bangladesh that investigations are “eye washed” steps by the government and that authorities never publish reports nor punish the alleged perpetrators.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and urge them to publicly publish the investigation report as soon as it is completed. Please also urge the Bangladesh government to take strong action against the alleged perpetrators.

Sample Letter:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: Intelligence wing investigating into torture case

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: 7-8 March 2007
Place of recent incident: Paikgachha town and the NSI office in the city of Khulna district

I am pleased to hear that the Government of Bangladesh has assigned its National Security Intelligence (NSI) agency to investigate the case of torture on two victims, namely Mr. Muzibur Rahman and Mr. Waheduzzaman which occurred on March 7 and 8 March 2007.

I expect that the investigation will be impartial and fair without any bias, and will be published in public. I also request that you ensure adequate medical treatment is provided to the victims, who sustained serious injuries due to alleged torture.

I further urge that you take strong disciplinary and legal actions against those responsible.

I look forward to your urgent and effective intervention in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. 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)

2. Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin
Chief Justice
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-9562792
Fax: +88-02-9565058

3. Mr. 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. Lt. General Moeen U Ahmed
Chief of Army Staff
Bangladesh Army
Army Headquarters
Dhaka Cantonment
Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9870011
Fax: +880 2 8754455

5. Mr. Nur Mohammad
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

6. 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)

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

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-033-2007
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.