(Hong Kong, June 25, 2009) Mr. Muzibur Rahman is a businessman who farms shrimp in Pakigachha in the Khulna district of Bangladesh, but on January 23, 2007 he was arrested and tortured by army officers. They detained him at their camp for most of the day, and beat him severely for at least two hours under the direction of Major Mizan, a force commander in Paikgachha Upazilla. When he was handed to the police that evening they charged him under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure-1898 and detained him in Khulna District Jail until 13 February. He was acquitted by the court on 22 March.
“I don’t believe that I can get justice from the judicial system of my country”, said Rahman, in a recent interview with the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). “My heart longs for justice but I didn’t seek it because others who were tortured by the army and who tried, and the families of those who were killed due to torture, did not get any remedy to my knowledge”.
“Since the army works with the government, the government always remains on the army’s side. I was afraid to seek remedy because of that, and because I thought I would be ruined like others,” he added.
The attitude of torture victims like Mr. Rahman not only represents the growing unhappiness of most Bangladeshi citizens about their criminal justice system, but shines a bright light on the lack of progress being made inside the country’s integral institutions. It is time for the nation to bring the topic of systemic change into the public arena.
“Bangladesh must criminalise torture, both as its international obligation and as the country’s constitutional mandate; this will help the people greatly,” says Basil Fernando, executive director of the AHRC. “The country should implement the law, ensuring checks and balances of the State’s institutions. It can be done only after thorough reforms of the criminal justice system and this needs political will”. The veteran rights activist urged the government of Bangladesh to work with civil society to establish a rule of law by building public trust in the institutions.
The audio record of Muzibur Rahman’s experience in Bangladeshi detention is available at the AHRC’s NO TORTURE website. This is a case taken up by the AHRC from its occurrence, and our past Urgent Appeals on it can be read at: UP-011-2007 ; UP-015-2007and UP-048-2007.
