UPDATE (Bangladesh): Santa’s family facing harassment by the Wazirpur police in Barisal 

RE: UP-114-2006: BANGLADESH: Safety measures must be taken to ensure the lives of Shahin Sultana Santa and her husband; UP-112-2006: Court dismisses charges against alleged perpetrators; UP-101-2006: Judicial Probe Commission ignores specific complaint against the Mohammadpur police; UP-096-2006: Court orders supplementary investigation following disputed Judicial Probe Commission report; UP-083-2006: Police defy High Court order by continuing to make threats; UP-062-2006: Harassment and threats continue towards victim despite a High Court ruling ordering the alleged perpetrators to stop; UP-058-2006: Police seriously intimidate and threaten victim, her husband and her witnesses; UA-105-2006: Pregnant woman tortured by police in Dhaka]
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BANGLADESH: Torture; fabrication of charges; constant threats and intimidation; lack of witness protection; denial of trial; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges your immediate and strong intervention into the constant threats and harassment of a torture victim Mrs. Shahin Sultana Santa, and her husband Mr. Atiur Rahman. Santa, who was pregnant at the time of incident, had been severely beaten by the police in Dhaka on 12 March 2006 and implicated with false charges after the incident (See further: UA-105-2006). The AHRC has issued several appeals regarding the repeated threats to the victim and her family and the government’s inaction (See further: UP-058-2006, UP-062-2006, UP-083-2006, UP-096-2006, UP-101-2006, UP-112-2006 and UP-114-2006), however the Bangladesh government has failed to take any serious action to provide justice to the victim.  According to the latest information, Santa and her husband, who is also her lawyer, has been targeted by the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Wazirpur police station in Barisal district, . Meanwhile, two staff hired for the fisheries project in Mrs. Santa’s land were kidnapped and the victim’s family believes that the kidnapping is linked to her case. All these threats and intimidation took place despite the direction of a Bench of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court on 28 March 2006 prohibiting any intimidation or harassment to the victim and her husband. The security situation of Santa and her husband has become critical and they fear for their lives.

In the latest incident among the series of threats and harassment on the victim and her family, at around 11:00pm on 22 August 2006, a group of men went to fisheries project house in Santa’s land at Satila village which is under the Wazirpur police station in Barisal district. They cut open a window with a sharp weapon and entered a room where the caretaker of the project Mr. Md. Abu Sayeed Hawlader was sleeping. They then threatened the caretaker with weapons and stole a number of fishing nets, power tiller, an electric generator, three fishing boats and 40,000 Taka (USD 628). The men also kidnapped two project staff namely Mrs. SS (the name is withheld) and Mr. Nurul Islam. Mrs. SS was reportedly raped by three persons during her abduction and rescued later on September 14 but Mr. Nurul Haque remains missing.

On August 28, Mr. Sayeed lodged a case (CR case no: 440/6) with the Barisal Magistrate Court regarding the robbery under section 395 (robbery), 397(robbery and attempt to murder), 364 (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), 427 (mischief and causing damage) and 34 (equal liabilities of committing the same crime in a group) of the Penal Code of Bangladesh. The Magistrate then sent this case to the Wazirpur police station and instructed the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) to “take necessary action urgently”.

At around 6:30 pm on September 8, Mr. Sayeed went to the Wazirpur police station to inquire the development of his complaint. The on duty police officer asked him to meet the OC Mr. Golam Rahman, who was handling his case. After receiving a message, Golam came to the police station to meet Mr. Sayeed. Mr. Sayeed reported that the OC slapped his face, verbally abused him and snatched 50,000 Taka (USD 740) from him. The OC further threatened Mr. Sayeed that he would take revenge on Santa and her husband saying, “This Advocate Atiur (the victim’s husband and her lawyer) pleaded for a man, namely Mr. Tamiz Uddin Master in case against me in Dhaka . I put this man behind the bar implicating him in several cases when I was a Sub Inspector of the Gulshan police station. Now I am the OC of this police station. All of you are in my grip and it’s my turn to take the revenge upon you!” The AHRC confirmed with the victim’s husband that he had worked as the lawyer of Mr. Tamiz Uddin Master, who had lodged a case against the then SI of the Gulshan police station, Mr. Golam for his corruption and abuses of power. Subsequently, SI Golam had been later transferred to the Cantonment police station.

The victim’s husband also says that the OC Golam influenced some inhabitants of the Satla Union Council of the Wzirpur police station in Barisal district to lodge a false case against him and his wife. He further reported that the OC Golam has not recorded Mr. Sayeed’s complaint in violation of the magistrate’s order. Instead he lodged a fabricated charge against him and his wife and the fisheries protect staff in Satla village. Santa and her husband believe that the harassment by the OC Golam is linked to the cases that they had lodged against the police officers who committed the torture of Santa in March 2006.

The High Court Division directed the law enforcing agencies, including the police chief and alleged perpetrators, not to harass Santa in any way, including by organizing persons to make fraudulent complaints against the family. It also ordered them not to enter the family’s house and that the police should explain how the assault could have occurred and why there should not be legal action against the accused.  However, these orders have never been respected and the victim and her husband along with their employees have been under constant and serious harassment by the police or unidentified people, while no serious action has been taken against the alleged torture perpetrators. The security situation of Santa and her husband has become critical and they fear for their lives.

Advocate Mr. Atiur (the victim’s husband) has sent a legal notice on September 11 to the government and the police officials, including the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Inspector General of Police, Superintendent of Police of Barisal district, the OC Mr. Golam Rahman and Sub Inspector Mr. Golam Mostofa of the Wazirpur police station regarding the police’s failure of recording the robbery case and taking necessary action according to the court’s order.

Meanwhile, Santa’s cases have been dragged on and on for a long time due to non-functioning corrupt judiciary in the country. To see the collapse of the justice system of in detail, please see the special report titled “Lawless law enforcement and the parody of judiciary in Bangladesh” published by the AHRC’s sister organization, the Asian Legal Recourse Centre (ALRC) in August 2006 (Article 2, Vol. 5, No. 4). Santa’s case has been also documented in this report in pages 63-67 (Case number: 17).

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below urging them to intervene immediately into this case so that the harassment of Santa and her husband can be stopped and security is ensured.

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