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UPDATE (Bangladesh): Human rights activist likely to be shot dead by the Rapid Action Battalion

November 21, 2007

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

21 November 2007

[RE: UP-142-2007: BANGLADESH: One human rights defender arbitrarily arrested and again implicated into fabricated case; UP-122-2007: BANGLADESH: A human rights defender is implicated with the alleged false charges; UP-101-2007: BANGLADESH: An investigation began into the alleged threats against a human rights defender by an RAB official; UA-149-2007: BANGLADESH: Alleged serious intimidation by the Rapid Action Battalion in Rajshahi against a human rights defender]
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UP-155-2007: BANGLADESH: Human rights activist likely to be shot dead by the Rapid Action Battalion

BANGLADESH: Impunity; continuing threats and fabrication of charges; attack on human rights defenders; violation of freedom of expression
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that Mr. Jahangir Alam Akash, a journalist and human rights defender based in Rajshahi city is once again threatened by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for exposing the atrocities committed by the RAB in Bangladesh. Mr. Akash is the coordinator of the Task Force against Torture (TFT)-Rajshahi city as well as the regional coordinator of the Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) in the Rajshahi region. He is also a journalist by profession working as the bureau chief of a private news television channel CSB News and the Daily Sangbad, a Dhaka based national newspaper.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

Mr. Akash, [picture 1] was threatened, intimidated and also arrested on fabricated charges by the RAB several times in the recent past. While in detention he was tortured severely. Due to the injuries Akash suffered from torture he finds it difficult to walk now. On previous occasions when Akash was arrested he was released on bail. Now, the AHRC has learned through credible sources in Bangladesh that Akash has been once again threatened by the RAB that he will be booked with yet another fabricated charge and would be shot dead as if he was killed in an encounter. Akash is now in hiding being afraid that he would be killed by the RAB any day. His family is also afraid that they would be targeted by the RAB to make Akash surrender before the RAB.

The AHRC in the past has issued several updates regarding Akash's case. For further information please see: UA-149-2007, UP-101-2007 and UP-142-2007. Major Mr. Rashid of the RAB is believed to be behind these incidents. For further details, please see UP-122-2007.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the authorities below and urge them to provide immediate protection to Mr. Akash.  Please also demand the authorities to conduct an impartial inquiry about the activities of the RAB stationed in Rajshahi city.

Sample letter:

Dear ___________,

BANGLADESH: Human rights activist threatened by the Rapid Action Battalion that he will be shot dead

Name of victim: Mr. Jahangir Alam Akash, the coordinator of the Task Force against Torture (TFT)-Rajshahi city; the regional coordinator of the Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) in the Rajshahi region; the bureau chief of TV news channel CSB News and the daily newspaper Sangbad.
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Major Mr. Rashidul Hassan Rashid, attached to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-5 deployed for the Rajshahi region
2. Other personnel of the RAB-5
Date of incident: Continuously - since 2 May 2007
Place of incident: Rajshahi city

I am deeply concerned to know about the continuing threats and intimidation by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) against Mr. Jahangir Alam Akash. I am informed that Akash is now facing death threats from the RAB and that Akash is worried whether he would be shot dead in a fake encounter.

I am aware that in the past several months a series of calls were made to the authorities in Bangladesh inviting attention to Akash's case, upon which the authorities in Bangladesh has so far done nothing. I am informed that Akash is a human rights activist and also a journalist who had published and reported cases of torture and corruption against the RAB officials. I am also informed that in the past several occasions the RAB had framed Akash with false cases against which the courts in Bangladesh have released Akash on bail. On one particular incident Akash was arrested and detained for 28 days and during these days he was tortured. Upon release from custody on bail, Akash had to be admitted in the hospital for treating the injuries that he suffered from the torture. Even today Akash finds it difficult to walk.

I am also informed that not only Akash, but his family also is under threat from the RAB. As of now Akash is keeping himself away from his home in order to be safe.

This is not any isolated instance of such threats on journalists or human rights defenders in Bangladesh. I have learned that it is a very common phenomenon for the professionals like journalists and human rights defenders of Bangladesh facing death threats from the law-enforcing agencies and security forces. I am also very much concerned that since the state of emergency was imposed in the country such threats and intimidations by state's security forces have alarmingly increased there. Yet none of the alleged perpetrators have yet been prosecuted for their alleged crimes. As a result, the worst type of culture of impunity is cultivated in Bangladesh, despite the nation's presence in the UN Human Rights Council since May 2006. I am also concerned about the reports of torture, ill-treatment, extra-judicial killings by the armed security forces for last four months under a state of emergency.

I therefore request you to ensure that the RAB officers involved in this case are investigated and appropriate action is taken against them if the allegation is proven. Should the investigation commences, I likewise request your office to impose immediate sanctions upon these officers to ensure a credible and independent investigation, and to refrain them from using their authority to possibly further harass the victim further. The victim and his colleagues must likewise be afforded with appropriate protection and security to avert any possible violent actions that could be taken against them.

I also urge the UN human rights bodies, including the Office of the High Commissioner, Human Rights Council and the independent experts, to take more active role to improve the deteriorated human rights situation in Bangladesh under a state of emergency since January 2007.

I trust that you immediate take action on this serious matter.

Yours sincerely,

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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: +880 2 8828160-79, 9888677
Fax: +880 2 8113244 or 3243 or 1015 or 1490

2. Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin
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: +880 2 9562868
Fax: +880 2 9561568

4. Mr. Nur Mohammad
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters'
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562054 or 7176451 or 7176677
Fax: +880 2 9563362 or 9563363

5. Mr. Hassan Mahmud Khandokar
Director General (DG)
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
RAB Headquarter
Uttara, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02- 8961105 (O)
Fax: +880 2 8962884 (O)

6. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Att: Melinda Ching Simon
Room 1-040, c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UP-155-2007
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.