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UPDATE (Bangladesh): Government orders departmental action against the alleged perpetrators of police brutality on journalists

July 12, 2006

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

13 July 2006

[UP-121-2006: BANGLADESH: Judicial Probe Commission has yet to submit its report regarding police brutality; UP-095-2006: BANGLADESH: Government names District Judge to conduct a judicial probe into the police brutality on journalists; RE: UP-089-2006: BANGLADESH: Government names the head of the judicial probe commission into the police brutality on journalists; UA-128-2006: BANGLADESH: Journalists beaten by the police at the Chittagong stadium]

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UP-141-2006: BANGLADESH: Government orders departmental action against the alleged perpetrators of police brutality on journalists

BANGLADESH: Torture; intimidation; threat; deprivation of professional duty; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the case of police brutality on journalists at the Chittagong stadium on 16 April 2006. We have now learned that the government ordered the Inspector General of Police to start departmental proceedings against the three alleged perpetrators after receiving the report from the Judicial Probe Commission. We have also learned that the government has decided to pay compensation to the victims by July 23 following the recommendations made by a committee comprising of government officials and the journalist's leaders. However, despite evidence obtained confirming the crimes committed, the government has chosen to proceed with departmental action only, rather than criminal proceedings.

On July 12 the State Minister for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babar announced that he had asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to lodge 'departmental proceedings' against three alleged perpetrators, who were found guilty in the probe report conducted by the District and Session Judge of the Comilla district, Mr. Shawkat Hossain.

The minister said that the former Deputy Commissioner (Port), Mr. Ali Akbor Khan, Assistant Commissioner (Supply), Mr. Enamul Kabir and Sergeant, Mr. Anwar Sattar, of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) were responsible for the brutality on the journalists according to the probe commission's report. The incident took place at the Chittagong Birsreshtha Shaheed Ruhul Amin Stadium on 16 April 2006.  Mr. Babar also mentioned that the government would pay compensation to the victims by July 23 following the recommendation of a seven-member committee headed by the Joint Secretary of the Information Ministry, Mr. Mir Mosharraf Hossain. The committee submitted its report recommending paying Taka 1,436,397 (approximately USD 21,000) as compensation to twenty journalists, who were injured by the police brutality and suffered damage to their cameras.

However, the government is avoiding criminal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators despite the allegations of torture having been proven. The compensation is a result of the massive publicity this case received, due to it being directly related to the journalist community, who started a movement against the government demanding justice. In the case of ordinary torture victims, who do not get such publicity, neither justice nor compensation is ever achieved. As there is no domestic legislation criminalising torture in compliance with the Convention Against Torture (CAT) Act of the United Nations, which was ratified by the Bangladesh Government on 5 October 1998, obtaining justice for torture victims is basically impossible. Besides, article 14, paragraph 1 of the CAT is reserved by the government. As a result of this the victims have no way to get reparation.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities listed below urging them to initiate criminal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators regarding this case. Please urge the government to ensure exemplary punishment of the alleged perpetrators without further delay. Please also ask that the recommended compensation be paid by the date mentioned by the State Minister. Please also insist the government to withdraw its reservation of article 14 of the Convention against Torture Act and frame legislation criminalising torture and safeguarding reparation for the victims of torture.

Suggested letter:

Dear ___________,

BANGLADESH: Government orders departmental action against the alleged perpetrators of police brutality on journalists

I am writing to draw your attention to the incident involving police brutality on journalists in Chittagong during the second test cricket match between Bangladesh and Australia on 16 April
2006.

According to the information I have received, the State Minister has ordered the Inspector General of Police to start departmental proceedings against three alleged perpetrators found guilty in the Judicial Probe Commission's report. The State Minister also declared that the government will pay compensation to the twenty victims of the police brutality by July 23.

While I welcome the decision of starting departmental proceedings against the three alleged perpetrators, namely the former Deputy Commissioner (Port), Mr. Ali Akbor Khan, Assistant Commissioner (Supply), Mr. Enamul Kabir and Sergeant, Mr. Anwar Sattar, of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), I am concerned that the alleged perpetrators are to avoid any criminal action owing to the government’s decision to proceed with departmental action only.

I am aware that the decision to pay compensation is the result of the massive publicity this case has attracted due to it being directly related to the journalist community, who started a movement against the government demanding justice.

I am also aware that in ordinary cases, which do not get such publicity, victims of torture get neither justice nor compensation. I have learned that there is no domestic legislation criminalising torture in compliance with the Convention Against Torture (CAT) Act of the United Nations, despite the Bangladesh government ratifying the convention on 5 October 1998. This is one of the key barriers in obtaining justice for torture victims. I am also aware that article 14, paragraph 1 of the CAT is reserved by the government, which has closed avenues to get reparation in the cases of torture perpetrated by law enforcing agents of the country.

I urge you to punish the alleged perpetrators under the criminal laws of the country for the crimes they committed. Please pay the recommended compensation to victims within the date declared by the State Minister for Home Affairs. I also strongly urge you to frame effective legislation complying to the CAT to ensure justice and reparation to the victims of torture in the country. Please reformulate the law enforcing system of the country giving international standard training and facilities to the members of the law enforcing agencies of Bangladesh. Failure to do this will deny justice to all concerned.

Yours sincerely,

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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. Barrister Maudud Ahmed MP
Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
The Government of the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7160627?
Fax: +880 2 7168557

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Mr. M Mazedul Haque
Commissioner
Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)
CMP Headquarter
Chittagong
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 031 624100 (O)
Fax: +88 031 621565 (O)

8. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 9179016 (general)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-141-2006
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.