Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that on 3 July 2006, a rickshaw driver named Inarul Islam Ena was arbitrarily arrested, forced to drive overnight, and sodomized by Officer Abdul Mannan, a Bishnupur police Sub Inspector of the Chuadanga district, Bangladesh. Before the offence, the police threatened to kill Ena under pretence of “crossfire.” Being pressured by the local people, the authorities have withdrawn the alleged perpetrator from his camp, but no further action has been taken so far.
Around 7pm on 3 July 2006, Inarul Islam Ena, a motorized rickshaw driver, was arbitrarily arrested by Bishnupur police officers while he was on his way home. Ena was forced to drive the police around on their patrol throughout the night. Early the next morning (July 4), he was taken into the police camp, where Sub Inspector (SI) Abdul Mannan quarantined him, threatened to kill him, stripped him, and sodomized him.
After Ena was released from custody the following morning, he shared the incident with those back in his village. Hundreds of people protested against the police on Enas behalf and demanded punishment of SI Abdul Mannan.
Shockingly, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Damurhuda police station dismissed the sodomy assault as mere “molestation by SI Abdul Mannan.” The Superintendent of the Police (SP) of the Chuadanga district, Md. Muslim, informed that SI Abdul Mannan has been withdrawn from the camp. However, no further reprimands have been given and there are no official complaints so far filed by the authorities. According to section 377 of the Penal Code of Bangladesh, the perpetrator can be charged with sodomy and given a maximum penalty of up to 10 years.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT:
The Bangladesh government has ratified the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) but has yet to be implemented. It has reserved article 14 of the CAT, which ensures medical treatment, compensation and complete redress of victims. In addition, as there is no domestic legislation to criminalize torture committed by law enforcement officials in the country, most of the perpetrators are not punished at all and in the worst case, receive only departmental disciplinary action or light punishment with charges of “maltreatment” rather than of “torture”. As far as the AHRC knows, there is no single case in which the victims received compensation for torture.
Beside this, there are no independent complaint mechanisms where torture victims can lodge complaints against perpetrators. As a result, as seen in this case, the police conduct inquiries into torture cases where police are also the alleged torturers. The police are normally reluctant to take action against their colleagues and in some cases they even threaten the victims to withdraw their complaints.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the persons listed below and urge them to ensure a fair and impartial investigation into this case. The alleged perpetrators must be held accountable for their actions. Please also urge the government of Bangladesh to pay appropriate compensation to the victim. The security of the victims must be ensured.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
BANGLADESH: Man sexually violated by the Police in Chuadanga district
Name of victim:
1. Mr. Inarul Islam Ena, son of Mr. Nur Mohammad, a rickshaw van driver, living in Ibrahimpur village under Damurhuda police station in Chuadanga district
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Abdul Mannan, Sub Inspector and In-Charge of the Bishnupur police camp under Damurhuda police station in Chuadanga district
2. Policemen attached to the Bishnupur police camp under Damurhuda police station in Chuadanga district
Place of incident: Bishnupur police camp under Damurhuda police station in Chuadanga district
Date of incident: 3 July 2006
I am writing to draw your attention to a case where a Bishnupur Police officer of the Chuadanga district arbitrarily arrested and sexually assaulted an innocent local man.
According to the information I have received, around 7pm on 3 July 2006, Inarul Islam Ena, a motorized rickshaw driver, was arbitrarily arrested by Bishnupur police officers while he was on his way home. Ena was forced to drive the police around on their patrol throughout the night. Early the next morning, he was taken into the police station, where Sub Inspector (SI) Abdul Mannan quarantined him, threatened to kill him, stripped him and sodomized him.
I am aware of a protest against the police by the villagers of Enas village and that they demanded redress for SI Abdul Mannans action. Regrettably, before the investigation could begin the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Damurhuda police station justified the sodomy assault by calling it as mere “molestation by SI Abdul Mannan”.” Subsequently, the police have not taken any serious action to inquire into this case and SI Abdul Mannan has simply been withdrawn from the camp. No complaints have yet been filed or lodged against him by the police or other responsible authorities. It seems that the police department has withdrawn SI Abdul Manna from the camp in response to the huge anger and pressure of the local community. But I am doubtful that the authorities will bring the alleged perpetrator to justice.
This is yet another case that illustrates the brutality of the Bangladesh police and failure of the rule of law in the country. Even though the Bangladesh government has ratified the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT), there is no domestic legislation to criminalize torture committed by law enforcement officials in the country, and therefore most of the perpetrators are not punished. In the worst case, they receive only departmental disciplinary action or light punishment with charges of “maltreatment” rather than of “torture”. Beside that, there are no independent complaint mechanisms where torture victims can lodge complaints against perpetrators in Bangladesh. As a result, as seen in this case, the police conduct inquiries into torture cases where police are also the alleged torturers. The police are normally reluctant to take action against their colleagues and in some cases they even threaten the victims to withdraw their complaints.
I have also been informed that there is no compensation law or provisions for torture victims in Bangladesh and that the Bangladesh government has deprived these rights from people by reserving Article 14 of the CAT, which ensures medical treatment, compensation and complete redress for the victims. As far as I know, there is so far not a single case in which the victims received compensation for torture since the country’s independence.
In light of the above, I strongly urge you to order an impartial and proper investigation into this alleged case by an independent agency (not by the police). I particularly demand that the perpetrator be charged with section 377 of the Penal Code of Bangladesh to which the sodomy offender can receive the maximum penalty of 10 years. I also urge you to take appropriate action against other police officers who are responsible for the alleged illegal arrest of the victim. Adequate compensation must be provided to the victim for the loss he had suffered. I further urge the Bangladesh government to immediately implement the CAT so that torture perpetrators can be punished under the law. An independent agency where torture victims can lodge a complaint should be established and effective compensation should be introduced and strictly enforced without further delay. Only through these actions, can the Bangladesh government be able to eliminate the routine practice of torture and other crimes committed by law enforcement officers.
I look for your urgent intervention into this case.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mrs. Begum Khaleda Zia
Prime Minister
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
E-mail: pmo@pmo.gov.bd
2. Mr. Md. Lutfozzaman Babor MP
State Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7169069 (O) or 8359000 (R)
Fax: +880 2 7160405, +880 2 7164788
E-mail: mediacel@bttb.net.bd; info@mha.gov.bd
3. Mr. Sayed J. R. Modassir Hossain
The Chief Justice
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562792
Fax: +880 2 9565058
4. 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
5. 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
E-mail: bdpolice@dhaka.net
6. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Khulna Range
Bangladesh Police
Office of the DIG of Khulna Range
Khulna
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 041 624100 (O)
Fax: +88 041 721358 (O)
7. 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 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org / tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
