UPDATE (Bangladesh): Continuous police harassment of tortured women: Grave concern for her safety

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned about the security of Mrs. Shahin Sultana Santa, a torture victim who was brutally attacked by the police of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on 12 March 2006. According to the latest information, Mrs. Santa has been implicated with fabricated criminal charges by both the police and other private groups. The police have been continuously raiding her house day and night between March 11 and March 15, and have attempted to arrest her. She and her family are now in hiding out of fear for their lives and from the real possibility of being tortured and held under illegal detention. We again call for your strong intervention in this case to stop the illegal harassment of Mrs. Santa and her family. These threats and intimidation tactics continue despite a high court injunction ordering them to stop. The AHRC is extremely concerned about the security of Mrs. Santa and Mr. Atinur and seeks your support in helping this defenceless family live in peace.  

UPDATED INFORMATION:

The police are now harassing Mrs. Shahin Sultana Santa with pending fabricated charges. On 11 March 2007, a group of police from the Adabor police station led by Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Sher Alam, raided Santa’s house at around 12:10 pm. About 20 policemen cordoned the entire area of Santa’s flat. The policemen were allegedly shouting and using abusive language towards Santa from the street and the staircase of the building. They were asking her to open the main door of the flat. As Santa was late opening the door since she was scared and was alone with her son and maid, the policemen started to kick on the door attempting to break in and enter the house. As soon as she opened the door, S I Mr. Alam along with three armed policemen entered the house. They used abusive language on Santa and presented an arrest warrant. The police informed her that the warrant was issued by the CMM Court for her involvement in a case filed by the Dhanmondi police station of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (No. 12, dated: 12 March 2006, under section 143, 323, 435, 427).  The case was lodged by a bus driver named Mr. Md. Anis who was driving a police requisite bus on the day of torture on Santa.

Santa then mentioned the directions of the High Court Division Bench “not to arrest, harass and enter into the house” and appealed to the police officer not to do so. She explained that her husband was hiding in fear of his life and is receiving continuous death threats from terrorists and unknown persons.  She pleaded with the officers that if she was arrested then there would be nobody to take care of her eleven year-old son Mehrab Afridi Momin. Following the repeated request the police officer was obstinate. Then, Santa urged the police to arrest her with her son, if they have any legal authority to do so or wait for three more days so that she can try to receive bail from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) Court of Dhaka. Finally, the police left the house saying that after three days they would come again to finish their duty and arrest her.

The following day (March 12), Santa went to the CMM Court seeking bail from there. The Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr. Md. Shafik Anwar, granted bail to her. As soon as she came out of the Court room of Magistrate Mr. Shafik Anwar a lawyer, who was known to her, informed Santa that the police have submitted a Charge Sheet against her in another case (No. 22, dated: 12 March 2006, under section: 147, 148, 149, 332, 333, 353 and 427 of the Penal Code; lodged by S I Mr. Ziaur Rahman of the Mohammadpur police station).  This case was filed by the Mohammadpur police station and could cause her to be arrested at any time. Since it was late and the period for lodging bail petitions had ended for the day, Santa had no way to get bail in the case and left the Court for home. On the way, she came to know that the police were deployed around her house while her son was inside with the maid. Realising the possible harassment she did not go back home and requested her maid to take care of her son for the night. Spending a sleepless night at a friend’s house, she went to the CMM Court to seek bail once again the following morning (March 13). The Metropolitan Magistrate of Court No.11 granted bail to her responding to her appeal.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Mrs. Santa’s harassment began soon after her husband’s development projects were targeted by police. Four criminal cases (a. Case No. 81, dated 23 February 2007, under section: 419, 420, 468, 471, 385 and 506 of the Penal Code, complainant: Mr. Khandokar Ruhul Amin; b. Case No. 90, dated 26 February 2007, under section: 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 406, 385, 506 and 109 of the Penal Code, Complainant: Mr. Abdul Wahed; c. Case No. 92, dated 27 February 2007, under section: 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 406, 385, 506 and 109 of the Penal Code, Complainant: Mr. Mahbub Alam; and d. Case No. 1, dated 1 March 2007, under section: 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 406, 385, 506 and 109 of the Penal Code, Complainant: Mr. Md. Iqbal Hossain) have been lodged by the Jatrabari police station against Santa’s husband Mr. Atiur Rahman regarding a land dispute with a group of persons where Mrs. Santa was implicated in all four cases. Mrs. Santa alleges that the perpetrators (police officers) of her torture cases might have encouraged the complainants to lodge the case against her. Mr. Atiur claims that he bought land at the Jatrabari area under the Jatrabari police station a couple of years ago when he was developing the property.

Then the Jatrabari police, having been bribed by a group of unknown persons, went to the land, beat the construction labourers and tenants, seized construction materials and destroyed the ongoing projects. On 4 March 2007, Atiur issued a legal notice to the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Jatrabari police station, Mr. Kazi Ahsan Habib, and Sub Inspector (SI), Mr. Abdul Karim, who was responsible for the police attack on his land. He sent another legal notice, on 18 February 2007, to the Secretary of Home Ministry, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Deputy Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), the Deputy Commissioner of the Wari Zone of the DMP and the OC and SI of the Jatrabari police for their alleged unlawful entrance into his house, intimidation, as well as an attempt to evacuate the inhabitants and tenants of the house, claim of bribe and toll, threat of implication with fabricated charges and cheating despite the Court’s directions of not doing so.

For the consecutive violation of laws by the law-enforcing agents Advocate Atiur lodged a petition case (No. 403, under section: 161, 385, 380, 448, 506, 409, 323, 447, 420, 506 and 34 of the Penal Code) on 11 March 2007 with the CMM Court of Dhaka against the OC of the Jatrabari police station and SI Mr. Abdul Karim. The Court directed the Additional IGP of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take legal initiatives regarding this case.

As a Judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Special Tribunal-4, Ms. Kaniz Akter Nasrina Khanam discharged Santa’s petition case (No. 23/2006) against the police on 21 May 2006.  Santa lodged a Revision Case with the Metropolitan Session Judges Court of Dhaka on 12 November 2006 (Please see: UP-112-2006 for further details). Initially, the Court fixed 4 January 2007 for the “full hearing” of the Revision Petition, and now it is dragging on. Since then, the Judge of the Court, Mr. Momin Ullah Patwari, has not yet heard the petition after giving several excuses.  A date has now been set for the hearing on 21 March 2007.

Meanwhile, another petition case (No. 312/2006) of Santa against the alleged police officers was also dismissed by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM Court) on 27 September 2006 following a distorted and farcical investigation report by the Special Superintendent of Police (SSP) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Mr. Kawsar Ahmed Haidori (For further details, please see: UP-207-2006).

In the investigation report, the SSP Mr. Haidori concluded that the allegations against the senior police officers were not proved according to the statements of the witnesses. In order to come to this conclusion Mr. Haidori took statements from only five persons, excluding Santa and the medical doctor of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) Mr. Md. Belal Hossain, out of 12 witnesses whose names were mentioned in the compliant lodged by Santa. On the other hand, the investigator added statements of eleven persons as so called “impartial witnesses” who either defended the statements of the police officers or avoided the fact as it happened during the torture on Santa. Besides, the SSP also included the statements of 23 police personnel in his investigation report to nullify the fact of torture. Moreover, the investigation report asserts that Santa was taking part in the procession of the opposition political parties, who allegedly attacked the police and damaged vehicles resulting with a number of police casualties. Among these policemen two were complainants of the fabricated charges against Santa and the others were, in fact, involved in the torture of Santa and cover-up that followed.

The Magistrate of the CMM Court, Mr. Baki Billah, dismissed Santa’s case following this investigation report conducted by SSP Mr. Haidori despite pictorial evidence regarding the torture that was published in most of the national daily’s and on video footage shown on television. Through the dismissal of Santa’s cases, her right to justice was utterly denied by the concerned rule of law institutions of the state. An investigation was conducted by Inspector Rafiqul Islam of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) in August 2006 following continuous intervention by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC); however, no one knows whether the intelligence investigation produced any report or not. She only commuted between her house or unknown shelters (during her hiding out of fear for her life) and the Court rooms for about a year receiving continuous death threats from the police and unknown persons.

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, UP-181-2006 and UP-207-2006.

From March 11 to 15, the police raided Santa’s house despite the bail granted by the CMM Court. On 15 March at about 10:45 pm, when the police went to Santa’s house and found that the house was locked, they pasted paper on the door with writing that said “absconding criminal wanted”. Having been informed about the police raid, Santa sent photocopies of the bail bonds to the guard of her house and called the Adabor police to collect the papers from the guard without harassing any person in the building. While talking to Santa S I Mr. Sher Alam of the Adabor police expressed his ignorance regarding Santa’s bail grants and told her that they will collect the papers from the guard house when it was confirmed by order of the court. The police, however, have not yet collected the copy of the bail bond till date.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Santa’s case filed against the police officers responsible for her torture has been dismissed from the CMM Court while a Revision petition has been dragging on in the Metropolitan Session Judge’s Court without progress. On the other hand, Santa has to appear before the Courts as an accused of the fabricated charges lodged against her by the police and their associates. On 20 March 2007, she has to appear at Court for case No. 12.  Santa is now extremely afraid for the safety of her son, her husband and her own.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant Bangladesh authorities listed below and demand their urgent intervention into this case. Please also urge them to provide safe environment to the victim and her family in no time.

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