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UPDATE (Bangladesh): Police investigate the alleged harassment of Muzibur Rahman by the DB police in Khulna

December 19, 2006

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

19 December 2006

[RE: UA-367-2006: BANGLADESH: A man arbitrarily arrested and intimidated by the Detective Branch Police of Khulna]
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UP-232-2006: BANGLADESH: Police investigate the alleged harassment of Muzibur Rahman by the DB police in Khulna
 
BANGLADESH: Arbitrary arrest; threat; intimidation; harassment; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the arbitrary arrest of a businessman named Muzibur Rahman from his house by the Detective Branch (DB) Police of Khulna district at Paikgachha town on 2 November 2006 (See further: UA-367-2006).  According to the information we have received, on 16 November 2006 an investigation was conducted by a senior police officer who was responding to the AHRC complaint. The investigator publicly declared that the alleged harassment of the victim by the police was true and further stated that his office would immediately submit their report to the higher police authority. Although the AHRC welcomes this development, the findings of the investigation have still not been released and no action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

On 16 November 2006, the Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) of Khulna Mr. Md. Jillur Rahman went to Paikgachcha to investigate the alleged harassment of Mr. Muzibur Rahman by the Detective Branch (DB) Police of Khulna district. During the investigation the police officer visited the house of Mr. Muzibur and talked to eye witnesses who also happened to be involved in the incident. The witnesses had been acting in part with DB Police Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Gaharul Hasan who was the officer responsible for arresting and harassing Mr. Muzibur.

The Additional SP then produced a letter before the witnesses that showed he was asked to investigate the complaint by the SP of Khulna. The papers showed that the orders where sanctioned by the Office of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Police of the Khulna Range after they received a complaint from the AHRC. The investigator then asked the witnesses who had threatened and intimidated the victim to provide statements that were later meant to be entered as evidence to the Additional SP's office in Khulna.

Subsequently on November 19 and again on November 30, a number of witnesses went to the office of the Additional SP to give their statements. After having recorded the statements, the investigating officer told the witnesses including Mr. Muzibur Rahman that the allegations of harassment were found to be true and would be reflected in a report submitted to the higher police authority. Despite this claim, there has been no updated information released by the Khulna Police Office regarding the investigation and no punitive action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators to date. 

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below urging them to disclose the investigation report on the alleged intimidation of the victim by SI Hassan of the DB Police Office in Khulna and to take strong disciplinary action against him.

Sample Letter:

Dear __________,

BANGLADESH: Police investigate the alleged harassment of Muzibur Rahman by the DB police in Khulna

Name of the victim: Mr. Muzibur Rahman, aged 40, a businessman, living in a house at the Court Road in the Paikgachha town under the Paikgachha police station in Khulna
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Gaharul Hasan, Sub Inspector attached to the Detective Branch of the Khulna district police (prime suspect)
2. Mr. Shafikul Islam, former tenant of the victim, who has a land dispute with the victim
3. Five other policemen attached to the same DB Branch
4. Mr. Mahtab, Sub Inspector attached to the Paikgachha police station, Khulna
5. A constable of the Paikgachha police station
Date of the original incident: 2 November 2006

I am writing to draw your attention to the alleged arbitrary arrest, threats and intimidation of the businessman mentioned above by the Detective Branch (DB) Police and the Paikgachha police in Khulna district on 2 November 2006.

According to the information I have received, on November 16 the Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) of Khulna Mr. Md. Jillur Rahman went to Paikgachcha to investigate the alleged harassment of Mr. Muzibur Rahman by the Detective Branch (DB) Police of Khulna district with the order of the SP of Khulna. During the investigation the police officer visited the house of Mr. Muzibur and talked to eye witnesses who also happened to be involved in the incident. The witnesses had been acting in part with DB Police Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Gaharul Hasan who was the officer responsible for arresting Mr. Muzibur.

I was also informed that on November 30 the investigation was completed by the Additional SP. However, the investigation report has not yet been published and no action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators including SI Mr. Gaharul Hasan to date.

While welcoming the development in this case, I request you to release the investigation report to the public regarding the concerned case. If the allegation is proven true, I urge you to take strong disciplinary and legal action against those responsible in accordance with the law. I further request that you take proper action to ensure that the security of the victim and his family be protect from further harassment and threats from SI Hassan or other police officers. The accused police officers including the SI Hassan should be suspended from their job while the investigation is on-going. I also urge you to ensure that the victim is adequately compensated. 

Unless strict discipline and good order are not established within the police forces, such violations will be repeated and innocent people would suffer. Such reform can only begin with the enforcement of strict punishment against the alleged police officers committing the crimes.

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

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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. 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

3. Mr. A J Mohammad Ali
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. 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

5. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Khulna Range
Office of the DIG of Khulna Range
Khulna
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-041-761823 (O)
Fax: +88-041-761300 (O)


Thank you.

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


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-232-2006
Countries :
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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.