Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is happy to inform you that the Magistrate of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court has rejected the bail petition of Mr. Jafor Mollah on 26 February 2007. Mr. Jafor has made several death threats to Mr. Atinur, the husband of torture victim, Mrs. Shahin Sultana Santa (See further: UP-024-2007). Thank you for your great support on this matter. However, we were further informed that some top governmental officials are allegedly pressuring the Investigation Officer of the Shahbagh police to submit a final report in favour of Mr. Jafor so that charges against him can be withdrawn. We again call for your strong intervention in this case to stop unlawful influence upon the investigation officer. The AHRC is gravely concerned about the security of Mrs. Santa and Mr. Atinur, if Mr. Jafor is discharged and then released from jail.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
According to the latest information we have received, Mr. Md. Mamun-Al-Rashid, the Metropolitan Magistrate of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court (CMM) of Dhaka has rejected the bail petition of Mr. Jafor Mollah on 26 February 2007. Mr. Jafor has been charged in regards to the death treats against Mr. Atinur Rahman and the attempt to extract the money from him (case no. 39, dated: 29/01/2007 at the Shabagh police station).
On February 25, a lawyer submitted a bail petition on behalf of Mr. Jafor, who was detained in the Dhaka Central Jail. However, Magistrate Mr. Shafik Anwar did not hear this bail petition on that day. On the following day on February 26, the lawyer filed the same bail petition before the CMM of Dhaka. Magistrate Mr. Md. Mamun-Al-Rashid however rejected the bail application of Mr. Jafor. This good news relieved Mr. Atinur Rahman for the time being.
However, according to Mr. Atiur, he has learned that some top level government officials are allegedly pressurizing Sub Inspector Mr. Khairul Islam, who is the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case of Mr. Jafor at the Shabagh police station, to submit a final report in favour of Mr. Jafor to the court as early as possible so that Mr. Jafor can be discharged soon. Mrs. Santa and Mr. Atiur are still in fear of possible harassment and threats on them by the allies of Mr. Jafor.
Meantime, Mrs. Santa’s case filed against police officers responsible for her torture has been dragged on in the court without any progress.
To see details of the original incident of torture and further development of this case, see also: UA-105-2006, UP-058-2006, UP-062-2006, UP-083-2006, UP-096-2006, UP-101-2006, UP-112-2006, UP-114-2006 and UP-181-2006.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and demand their urgent intervention into this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
BANGLADESH: Court rejected bail petition of a man who made death threats to Santa’s husband
Name of the victims:
1. Mrs. Shahin Sultalna Santa, wife of Mr. Atiur Rahman, living in house no. 7/A, road no. 10, Mohammadia Housing Society under the Mohammadpur police station in Dhaka
2. Mr. Atiur Rahman, a lawyer by profession and husband of Mrs. Shahin Sultana Santa, who was brutally tortured by the police in Dhaka, living in house no. 7/A, road no. 10, Mohammadia Housing Society under the Mohammadpur police station in Dhaka
Alleged perpetrator (for the recent death threats): Mr. Jafor Mollah, Chairman of the Satila Union Council under the Uzirpur police station in Barisal district and charge sheeted accused in number of criminal cases under trial at the Session Judge’s Courts of different districts of the country
I am sure that you will be aware of the torture case of Mrs. Santa on 12 March 2006, which was well publicized by the local media. I am pleased to learn that on 26 February 2007 the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court (CMM) of Dhaka has rejected the bail petition of Mr. Jafor Mollah, who has been charged in regards to the death treats against Mr. Atinur Rahman and the attempt to extract the money from him (case no. 39, dated: 29/01/2007 at the Shabagh police station).
While this will be a relieve to Mr. Atinur Rahman for the time being, I am concerned to received the information that some top level government officials are allegedly pressurizing Sub Inspector Mr. Khairul Islam, who is the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case of Mr. Jafor at the Shabagh police station, to submit a final report in favour of Mr. Jafor as early as possible so that Mr. Jafor can be discharged soon. I also want to inform you that the case filed by Mrs. Santa against the police officers responsible for her torture are in no process in the court, while no action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators who made numerous threats to the couple. For these reasons, Mrs. Santa and Mr. Atiur are still in fear of their lives and in fact Mr. Atiur is still into hiding.
I therefore request you to inquire about this allegation and ensure that the IO Mr. Khairul can perform his duty without any unlawful influence. Mr. Jafor should not be granted for bail considering his constant deaths treats and harassment against Mrs. Santa’s couple. I also request you to take adequate action to ensure the speedy and fair trials into Mrs. Santa’s case. I further urge the Government to establish an independent avenue where crimes allegedly committed by state actors are fairly and properly investigated.
Yours truly,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed
Chief Adviser
Government of the People’s Republic of
Office of the Chief Adviser
Old Parliament House,
Tejgaon, Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 8828160-79, 9888677
Fax: +880 2 8113244 or 3243 or 1015 or 1490
2. Mr. Sayed J. R. Mudassir Husain
Chief Justice
Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 9562792
Fax: +880 2 9565058
3. Barrister Fida M Kamal
Attorney General of Bangladesh
Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 02 9562868
Fax: +88 02 9561568
4. Barrister Moinul Hossain
Adviser
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-7160627 (O)
Fax: +88-02-7168557 (O)
5. Mr. Nur Mohammad
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
Police Headquarters
Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88 02 9562054(O)/ +88 02 7176451/ +880 2 7176677
Fax: +88 02 9563362 (O)/ +88 02 9563363
6. Mr. Nayeem Ahmed
Commissioner
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)
The DMP Headquarters
1, Shaheed Captain Monsur Ali Road
Ramna, Dhaka-1000
BANGLADESH
Tel: +88-02-8322746 (O)/ +88-02- 8316248
Fax: +88-02-8322746 (O)
7. Mr. Shahidul Islam Bhuyan
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Prosecution)
Chief Metropolitan Magistrates (CMM) Court of Dhaka
Office of the DC Prosecution
CMM Court Premises
Johnson Road, Dhaka-1100
BANGLADESH
Tel: +880 2 7116188 (Off), +880 2 9880655 (Res)
Fax: +880 2 7114470
8. 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 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
