A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status
BANGLADESH: Extra-judicial killings, torture, violence against women, media freedoms and the lack of an independent judiciary
Bangladesh has been re-elected to the Human Rights Council for another term of three years in uncontested elections at the UN General Assembly on May 12. However, during its previous three year membership in the Council, which started in 2006, the situation of human rights degraded significantly in the country, notably as the result of a nearly two-year state of emergency in which many fundamental rights were suspended and violated on a large scale.
It is imperative for the new government, which came to power following elections on December 29, 2008, to take action to address past and ongoing violations through effective investigations and prosecutions. For such prosecutions to take place, the independence of the judiciary must now be ensured in practice, not simply in theory. Bangladesh must begin to cooperate in a meaningful and verifiable manner with the Council and its various mechanisms, notably its Special Procedures. In particular it must issue a standing invitation to all of the Council’s special procedures, and enable visits of all that have requests pending, without delay, giving priority to the Special Rapporteurs on extra-judicial killings, on the independence of judges and lawyers, on the freedom of expression and on torture. The government must also take concrete steps to fulfil the voluntary pledges that it has made prior to its recent elections to the Council.
The ALRC has documented grave and widespread human rights abuses, including ill-treatment, custodial torture, extra-judicial killings, restrictions on the freedoms of expression and the press have been accompanied by impunity for the perpetrators of violations. This is due to a lack of access to justice for victims of abuses, notably through the lack of independent avenues to make complaints and a lack of independence of the judiciary.
Implement pledge to halt extra-judicial killings: The Bangladesh Awami League won elections and assumed the power on January 6, 2009 with more than a two-thirds majority in parliament. In its election manifesto the Awami League promised that it will not allow extra-judicial killings. It also promised to uphold rule of law and human rights in the country. During the Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on February 3, 2009, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Dipu Moni, expressed her government’s “zero tolerance” policy with regard to extra-judicial killings. She also promised to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice. In reality, only three hours after the Foreign Minister’s pledge, Mr. Samsel Islam Robin was killed in a so-called “crossfire” incident by the Detective Branch of the Police in the Jhenaidah district of Bangladesh. Crossfire is often used to justify extra-judicial killings by the authorities. Reports indicate that there were 315 extrajudicial killings in 2006, 184 in 2007 and 149 in 2008. From January to May 2009, since the new government came to power, a further 20 such killings have been recorded, but no action is being taken concerning this most grave of human rights violations.
The perpetrators include the police, the Rapid Action Battalion, the armed forces and other paramilitary forces. Not a single case has yet been investigated by any competent authority. Instead, the State Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Tanjim Ahmad Sohel, who has authority over the law-enforcement agencies, stated to the press on 6 May that “. . . the government will not allow any kind of extra-judicial killings, but the law-enforcers have the right to self-defence as per the constitution . . .” The ALRC is concerned by the authorities continuing to provide blanket justifications for killings that, allied with the lack of investigations into such cases, engenders impunity and further abuses.
“Heart attacks” and “suicides” blamed for suspicious deaths in custody: Around 20 soldiers from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), which staged a mutiny in late February 2009, have died in under suspicious circumstances in custody. Around 75 persons including 60 officers of the Bangladesh Army that held senior ranks in the BDR, were killed in the mutiny. The deaths in custody of the mutineers took place during interrogation either by the law-enforcement agencies or the armed forces or paramilitary forces. Despite there being evidence of serious injuries on the bodies, the authorities have claimed that the deaths have mainly resulted from “suicides” or “heart attacks.” No independent investigations have been allowed. In some, soldiers that survived the interrogation have shown the evidence of torture on their bodies to Magistrates when they have been brought to court. However, no action has been taken against any of the alleged perpetrators.
Criminalization of torture: Bangladesh has been a party to the Convention Against Torture for more than a decade. Despite its resultant obligation to criminalize torture at the domestic level, the authorities have thus far failed to do so. On 5 March 2009, a draft Bill on criminalization of torture and custodial deaths was tabled in the Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill. The Bill remains under review by the Ministries of Defence, Home Affairs and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The new government has more than a two-thirds majority in parliament and should therefore be able to pass such a Bill. However, the government has yet to clarify its position concerning the criminalization of torture.
Judicial independence: Although in theory the judiciary was separated from the executive branch in November 2007, it is still not able to function independently. Despite claims in the government’s pledges in advance of its bid for re-election to the Human Rights Council in 2009, that “Bangladesh recently completed the process of full separation of the judiciary from the executive,” in April 2009, the government amended the Code of Criminal Procedure-1898 to ensure that it has discretionary powers to enable officers of the executive to take control of criminal cases whenever the authorities deem fit. The authorities have created “executive magistrates” to carry out the implementation of governmental orders and “judicial magistrates” to deliver justice in the courts of law. According to the above amendment the government may empower any of its executive magistrates to take cognisance of any criminal case bypassing the original judiciary, which not only creates confusion within the criminal justice system but also undermines the judiciary. This evidently runs contrary to the claims made in the pledges and eliminates the independence of the judiciary in practice, notably concerning cases of human rights abuses alleged to have been committed by members of the authorities.
Moreover, the government has decided to withdraw “politically motivated fabricated cases” that have been pending trial. This process has created new opportunities for perpetrators of various crimes to go unpunished and will likely benefit the members and associates of the ruling political parties. Historically in Bangladesh, whichever political party comes to the power withdraws criminal cases against members of their party through executive orders involving the public prosecutors, who also belong to the ruling party. A large number of corruption and other criminal cases, including murder and violence against women, have been recommended to be withdrawn from the trial courts. This practice of providing impunity has significantly reduced the public’s faith in the country’s criminal justice system.
Freedom of expression: Bangladesh, in its 2009 pledges, claims to have “one of the most independent print and electronic media in the world.” However, the authorities forced some 160 local newspapers and a television news channel to close during the state of emergency. A significant number of journalists have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, received threats or been subjected to legal or physical attacks. According to Odhikar, in 2007: “35 journalists were injured, 13 arrested, 35 assaulted, 83 threatened and 13 sued. For example, a media practitioner was forced to sign an undertaking not to write any report without permission from the Bangladesh Rifles.” A request for a visit by the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression remains pending since 2003.
Examples of attacks on the press are plentiful. On 13 April, journalists were beaten by allies of a Member of Parliament at Gaforgaon in Mymensingh district. The incident happened after the legislator reacted to a media report and warned the journalists by saying “I am the MP . . . nothing can be written against me in the next five years. . .”
A journalist and editor of an English speaking national daily, Mr. Nurul Kabir’s private car was chased by unidentified motorbike rider-gunmen in Dhaka on 5 March 2009. Mr. Kabir has been critical of illegitimate and extra-constitutional practices by the country’s various governments, especially the emergency government. He also challenged the government’s decisions before the Supreme Court during the military-controlled regimes. However, the government has remained silent and has taken no action to investigate such incidents and pursue the alleged perpetrators of attacks against members of the press.
Violence against women: The rights of the women are vulnerable in Bangladesh. In the first four months of 2009 at least 112 women and girls have been raped in the country. In one case a woman from an ethnic minority group was gang raped by four policemen. Violence against women includes physical assault, sometimes resulting in death, of women for dowries and on the pretext of honour, by their in-laws. Assaults on domestic helpers who are mostly girls also take place in large numbers. In many such incidents the police do not record cases of violence against women and girls, including the incidents of rape, due to bribery by the alleged perpetrators.
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) urges the Human Rights Council to take immediate steps to address the situation of human rights in Bangladesh. The Council should insist that the government enact a law criminalizing torture, in line with international laws and standards. The country should ensure the full independence of the judiciary in practice, inter alia, by revoking the April 2009 amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure-1898 that allows the executive to take control of criminal cases. Bangladesh should investigate all allegations of human rights abuses, notably arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, extra-judicial killings, violence against women and corruption, including those committed during the recent state of emergency; prosecute all those alleged to be responsible in fair trials; and provide adequate reparation to the victims and their families. The personal integrity and freedom to work of all journalists and human rights defenders must be guaranteed without any kind of hindrance.
