BANGLADESH: Police prevent a journalist from filing torture allegations against paramilitary soldiers

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a team from the Rapid Action Battalion-10, a paramilitary force involved in maintaining law and order in Bangladesh, tortured a journalist at his house while in their custody, and detained him for more than ten hours. The soldiers made a fabricated video at his house and in their office involving drugs, in an attempt to discredit him. The police would not allow him to register a torture complaint against his perpetrators and the authorities have not yet taken any lawful action into this matter.

CASE DETAILS:

On 22 October 2009, according to the victim and other eyewitnesses, a (Rapid Action Battalion) RAB-10 team, in plain cloth, raided a house under the jurisdiction of the Jatrabari police, in Dhaka. One resident, Mr. F. M. Masum is a crime reporter for the New Age – a national daily newspaper based in Dhaka, and lives on the second floor.

At about 10:30am, Masum saw some plain clothed people beating the wife of the owner of the house in front of the building’s gate. They asked him to open the gate and he refused, but when the men identified themselves as RAB personnel he obeyed. However the men then started to beat him.

The battalion personnel, led by Fight Lieutenant Anis, took him inside and started to torture him with iron rods, wooden stick and with the blunt backside of machetes. According to the victim they hit him on the knees and other joints, then applied salt to the bleeding wounds. After about an hour they took him inside his apartment where they reportedly produced six bottles of Phensidyl (codeine) syrup, placed them on his bed and videoed the display.

The battalion took him to the RAB 10 headquarters at Dhalpur, while handcuffed. Masum begged to be allowed his inhaler; the officer swore at him and refused. The torture then continued at the RAB-10 office, where he was told that he may be arranged to die in a ‘crossfire’ killing. The team stuck a label on Masum’s t-shirt that read ‘Drug peddler’ and shot more video with another batch of drugs at the office.

In the meantime we are told that senior journalists of the New Age contacted the battalion’s director general, home secretary and the home minister, telling them that the arrest was mistaken. The journalists were given different reasons for his detention by different battalions; some claimed Masum had been found in possession of Pethedine, some said with Phensidyl syrup, while some others said they found him with prostitutes. They promised his release.

After these assurances from the battalion’s director general, home secretary and home minister, it took four more hours for Masum to be released at 10:30pm. The colleagues he was released to had to sign a paper that alleged that he had been picked up for not cooperating with law-enforcers, but was being released ‘in good health’. Masum reportedly was covered in torture wounds; his body and his feet were swollen, his eyes bloodshot.  After being admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), physicians advised that he have a CT scan and X-ray, with the tests run early Friday. Masum was then discharged earlyfrom the DMCH, at about 2:30pm although his condition was still serious. He admitted himself to the Dhaka Community Hospital, a private hospital, on the same day where he is being treated.

Masum told the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that he is experiencing hearing problems in his left ear and has serious pain in his knees, elbows, shoulders, soles and in the back of the head. Quoting his physicians he said that his full physical recovery may take many months, if medical treatment is adequately provided.

On 23 October, the RAB Headquarters released a statement which said” “RAB sincerely expresses regret for the unwarranted incident that has taken place between RAB personnel and journalist FM Masum of the largely-circulated daily New Age. RAB is looking into the matter with importance. The RAB headquarters has formed an inquiry team and the matter is being investigated. Punitive action will be taken against anyone of RAB found guilty.”

However Mr. Shahiduzzaman, the Chief Reporter at the paper, told the AHRC that the Jatrabari police rejected their attempts to register a complaint at the station on 24 October.

On 25 October the Home Minister Ms. Sahara Khatun along with her deputy Mr. Shamsul Haque Tuku, state minister, visited Masum at the Dhaka Community Hospital. The Home Minister assured him that his torture allegations will be registered, yet the Jatrabari police have still not acted.

The only action that appears to have been taken inside the RAB is for one man, Flight Lieutenant Anis, to have been transferred to the Bangladesh Air Force, where he used to serve.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Masum and his family have accused the staff of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) of misconduct, regarding his hasty treatment and discharge, and suspect that they were influenced by the military connection of the case.

The New Age, as a national daily, constantly highlights the issues surrounding human rights abuses in Bangladesh., with the editor, Mr. Nurul Kabir known for his independent views, expressed in writing, televised talk-shows and civil society meetings on the rule of law and human rights issues. Before his torture F. M. Masum reportedly published several articles on extrajudicial killings conducted by the RAB.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the officials listed below, calling for them to investigate the misconduct and torture committed by Rapid Action Battalion personnel and the Jatrabari police. Please also ask the authorities to arrange adequate compensation and medical treatment for the victim.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has already written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on Question of Torture and Freedom of Expression and Opinion urging their intervention into this case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER