Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two men were detained for four days by the police without charge or legal record, and beaten severely each day to elicit bribes. The men were then confronted with fabricated charges and released only after they paid large fines. The debt has caused one man to sell his rickshaw–his livelihood–and another to pull his children from school to work with him and his wife in a brickfield. No attempt has been made by the local authorities to investigate the case.
CASE DETAILS: (According to the victims, their family members and witnesses within the police station)
When the house of the Shikdar family was burgled in September 2007 (Takia village, Khulna district), Mrs. Zohra Shikdar suspected her neighbours for the theft. Some money, a VCD player and a black and white television had been taken. Both menrickshaw pullers Mr. Monirul Islam and Mr. Shahidul Islamstrongly denied the theft but the households fought over the issue for a year.
When Roustam, the son of Zohra and Sohrab Shikdar, lodged a complaint and submitted a written petition at the Paikgachha police station, he was told to pay Taka 10,000 (aprox. US$145) by police officers, including Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mr. Ali Hashem Khan and Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Ayub Ali. The SI was assigned to deal with the matter off the record. Despite requesting and receiving a second bribe of (Taka 4,500) the SI did not officially register the petition.
Ayub Ali summoned Shahidul Islam to the police station on 2 November 2008, where he was held without any legal basis. At around 8:30 that night the police kicked down Monirul Islams front door, verbally abused and handcuffed him, before taking him to the station by motorbike and holding him there, once again, with no registered case or legal grounds. Both men were held in the station for four days.
Each day the officers–including SI Ayub–would take the men into another room, tie a rope around their waists and beat them with a bamboo stick for about half an hour. The men sustained injuries on the soles of their feet, their knee joints, elbow joints and backs. They were also squeezed between bamboo poles in a method of torture known locally as ‘banshcall’ and ‘banshadala’ and common in police stations through the country. Other detainees in the station–including human rights defenders Mr. F. M. Abdur Razzak and Mr. Shankar Kumar Dhali (also in detention under fabricated charges, please see case UP-034-2007) witnessed Monir bleeding from his right foot, his knee and right elbow, heard the men shouting, and saw them crying from pain after the torture. Before these sessions began the men were asked for a bribe, which they couldnt pay. The sessions ended with the threat that the beatings would continue unless they paid up.
The police sent news of the torture to the mens families with demands for money. Monir’s mother borrowed 2,000 Taka (about US$29) and paid it to the police on November 6. Later the same day SI Ayub produced both men before the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court of Paikgachha. The police presented a fabricated a case against Monir and Shahidul under Section 34 of the Police Act-1861, claiming that they had been found shouting in the street near the Magistrates Court the night before. The Police Act allows the arrest of people for petty offences like littering without any prior direction from any magistrate. The complaint was recorded as a Non-GR (Government Record) Case No. 193/08 on 6 November 2008.
The officers had told both men to confess to the offence if they wanted to be released quickly, and Monir and Shafidul’s lawyer agreed. There was no record of the mens detention in custody for four days or of Roustam Shikdars original complaint.
With no stretch of the imagination does this series of events resemble law enforcement. No criminal procedure was followed, no legal codes observed and no complaint was registered. The officers involved have instead acted above and outside of the law, meting out systematic extra judicial violence and extorting money from both the complainant and the accused, all of whom are extremely poor. The incident severely violates the constitutionally enshrined fundamental rights in Article 33 (2) as well as Section 61 of Bangladeshs Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and is a clear and unconscionable abuse of power. Unfortunately it is one that is assisted on every level, from the police, to the mens lawyer and the judiciary. In other words, the policing system at Paikgachha is simply criminal.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
In order to pay the bribery money to the police, the lawyers expenses, the fine and the medical expenses, Monirs family were forced to sell land. Shahidul’s relatives borrowed money at 10 per cent interest per month. Both victims are suffering from physical and psychological problems as a result of the torture, social stigmatization and financial hardship.
Monir says that he used to earn around Taka 150 (US$ 2.17) per day as a rickshaw driver, with which he supported a family of five and kept his two children in school. He cant any longer. ‘How could I imagine paying bribe to a police officer when we cannot even afford our meals of a day?’ he asked. ‘Now, I have to work at a brickfield along with my wife and two children, who are minors. I cannot afford the cost of the education for my 13-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, who now work with me at the brickfield.’ Brickfield work involves manually making bricks from mud and clay.
Shahidul now works as a labourer at a nursery to earn Taka 60.00 per day. He had to sell his rickshaw to afford the repayments of his debts and arrange medical treatment
The petitioner Roustam Shikdar, claims that he had to pay another Taka 1000 to the police after Monir and Shahidul were detained. This is not an isolated incident in the policing system of Bangladesh and the AHRC has frequently recorded the extent to which officers torture and bribe civilians in custody without any intervention; both practices seem to be an entrenched part of Bangladeshs so-called legal system. You will find more on this issue here.
As a state party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Bangladesh is not only obligated to prohibit torture, but to proactively adopt measures to end the practice, bring those responsible to justice, and provide redress for the victims. Torture is banned under the Bangladesh Constitution, which states: ‘No person shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.’
SUGGESTED ACTION:
The Asian Human Rights Commission has already written separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Question of Torture and on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges urging their intervention into this case. Please write to the officials listed below in this appeal calling for them to investigate the rampant corruption taking place at Paikgachha Police Station, and to dismiss and take legal action against the alleged perpetrators. Please also ask the authorities to arrange adequate compensation for the victims.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
BANGLADESH: Two men arbitrarily detained and tortured by police to elicit bribes
Names of victims:
1. Mr. Monirul Islam Monir, son of late Mr. Nawab Ali Gazi
2. Mr. Shahidul Islam, son of Mr. Shahar Ali
Both resident in Takia village, Khulna district, under the jurisdiction of the Paikgachha police station
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Ayub Ali, Sub Inspector of Police, attached to Paikgachha police station,Khulna district
2. Mr. Ali Hashem Khan, Inspector of Police and Officer-in-Charge (OC), Paikgachha police station, Khulna district
Date of arrest and torture: November 2 to 6, 2008
Place of torture: Paikgachha police custody
I am writing to express my serious concern about the ongoing trade of justice in Bangladesh. In this particular case the Paikgachha police in Khulna district illegally arrested two persons after receiving a bribe from a complainant. The police officers, namely Inspector Mr. Ali Hashem Khan, the Officer-in-Charge (OC), and Sub Inspector Mr. Ayub Ali arbitrarily detained Mr. Md. Monirul Islam Monir and Mr. Shahidul Islam for four days without any lawful reason or registered charge. They tortured the two men daily to extort bribes and eventually fabricated a charge, which went unquestioned in court and which the men were forced to accept. The cost of the bribes, the fine and the medical treatment has sent both men, already poor, into extreme poverty. I demand that the perpetrators be punished and dismissed following a thorough investigation of this incident and that the Paikgachha police be watched closely for further legal breaches from now forward.
On 28 October 2008 Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mr. Ali Hashem Khan and Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Ayub Ali reportedly demanded Taka 10,000.00 from Mr. Roustam Shikdar, who wanted to lodge a complaint regarding a theft, and suspected his neighbours. Shikdar submitted a written petition and SI Ayub Ali was assigned to deal with it off the record. Ali demanded and received a further Taka 4,500.00 (on 28 October 2008). No complaint was registered.
Despite this the Paikgachha police summoned Mr. Shahidul Islam, a rickshaw puller, to the police station on 2 November 2008, where he was held without any legal basis. At around 8:30 that night the police kicked Monirul Islams front door, verbally abused and handcuffed him, before taking him to the station by motorbike and detaining him there, again with no registered case or legal grounds. Both men were held in the station for four days.
Each day the officers–including SI Ayub–would take the men into another room, tie a rope around their waists and beat them with a bamboo stick for about half an hour. The men sustained injuries on the soles of their feet, their knee joints, elbow joints and backs. They were also squeezed between bamboo poles in a method of torture known locally as ‘banshcall’ and ‘banshadala’ and common in police stations through the country. Other detainees in the station–including human rights defenders Mr. F. M. Abdur Razzak and Mr. Shankar Kumar Dhali (also in detention under fabricated charges, please see case UP-034-2007) witnessed Monir bleeding from his right foot, his knee and right elbow, heard the men shouting, and saw them crying from pain after the torture. Before these sessions began the men were asked for a bribe, which they couldnt pay. The sessions ended with the threat that the beatings would continue unless they paid up.
The police sent word of the torture to the mens families and demanded money. Monir’s mother borrowed Taka 2,000 (about US$ 29) and paid it to the police on November 6. Later the same day SI Ayub produced both men before the Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court of Paikgachha. The police presented a fabricated a case against Monir and Shahidul under Section 34 of the Police Act-1861, claiming that they had been found shouting in the street near the magistrates court the night before. The police act allows the arrest of people for petty offences like littering without any prior direction from any magistrate. The complaint was recorded as a Non-GR (Government Record) Case No. 193/08 on November 6, 2008.
The officers had told both men to confess to the offence, if they wanted to be released quickly. Monir and Shafidul’s lawyer also suggested they do this. There was no record of the mens detention in custody for four days, or of Roustam Shikdars original complaint.
In order to pay the bribery money to the police, the lawyers expenses, the fine and the medical expenses, Monirs family were forced to sell land, and pull his children for school to work with himself and his wife in a brickfield. The youngest is seven. Shahidul’s relatives borrowed money at 10 per cent interest per month, and he had to sell his rickshaw. Both victims are suffering from physical and psychological problems as a result of the torture, social stigmatization and financial hardship.
I demand a thorough investigation so that the Paikgachha officers responsible be held accountable for this extensive series of crimes, from illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, torture and extortion to intimidation and the fabrication of the charges against Mr. Monirul Islam and Mr. Shahidul Islam. The alleged perpetrators, namely OC Ali Hashem Khan and SI Ayub Ali must be prosecuted if they are found guilty in the investigation. The authorities must pay adequate compensation to the victims for their suffering and financial loss.
With no stretch of the imagination does this series of events resemble law enforcement. No criminal procedure was followed, no legal codes observed and no complaint was registered. The officers involved have instead acted above and outside of the law, meting out systematic extra judicial violence and extorting money from both the complainant and the accused, all of whom are extremely poor. The incident severely violates the constitutionally enshrined fundamental rights in Article 33 (2) as well as Section 61 of Bangladeshs Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and is a clear and unconscionable abuse of power. Unfortunately it is one that is assisted on every level, from the police, to the mens lawyer and the judiciary. In other words, the policing system at Paikgachha is simply criminal.
Though torture is banned under the Bangladesh Constitution, which states: ‘No person shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment,’ I am informed that this is not an isolated incident in the policing system of Bangladesh. Noting the extent to which the officers were able to torture and bribe the civilians without any intervention, it appears that torture and extortion are an entrenched part of Bangladeshs so-called legal system. I question why the law enforcement authorities, the judiciary and politicians consistently fail to tackle the breakdown of the law in Bangladesh and why no sustainable initiatives are undertaken to improve the situation. I wonder how the people of Bangladesh can have any faith in the authorities when those in power exploit, extort and torture them with impunity.
As a state party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Bangladesh is not only obligated to prohibit torture, but to proactively adopt measures to end the practice, bring those responsible to justice, and provide redress for the victims.
I urge the authorities of Bangladesh to start massive reforms in the policing system of the country so that the ongoing and excessive abuse of police power is brought to a halt, and the process of delivering justice can begin.
I trust that you will take action urgently in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
—————
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Mrs. Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Prime Minister
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 811 3244 / 3243 / 1015 / 1490
Tel: +880 2 882 816 079 / 988 8677
E-mail: pm@pmo.gov.bd or ps1topm@pmo.gov.bd or psecy@pmo.gov.bd
2. Mr. M. M. Ruhul Amin
Chief Justice
Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 5058
Tel: +880 2 956 2792
3. Barrister Shafique Ahmed
Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7160627
Fax: +880 2 7168557
4. Ms. Sahara Khatun MP
Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7169069
Fax: +880 2 7160405, 880 2 7164788
5. Mr. Mahbubey Alam
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Annex Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 1568
Tel: +880 2 956 2868
6. Mr. Nur Mohammad
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Bangladesh Police
Police Headquarters’
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 2 956 3362 / 956 3363
Tel: +880 2 956 2054 / 717 6451 / 717 6677
E-mail: ig@police.gov.bd
7. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Khulna Range
Office of the DIG of Khulna Range
Khulna
BANGLADESH
Fax: +880 41 761300 (O)
Tel: +880 41 761823 (O)
E-mail: digkhulna@police.gov.bd
Thank you.
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
