Business Name

HR news reports
July 6, 2017

&
BANGLADESH
SECRETLY
DETAINED
KILLED
SCORES OF
OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS
-HRW Group

Bangladesh has secretly detained custody, according to the report.

hundreds of people including opposi-
While most were produced in court after
tion activists and many of them have
weeks or months of secret detention, HRW
later been killed.
documented 21 cases of detainees who were
later killed, and nine others whose wherea-
According to New York-based Human
bouts remain unknown.
Rights Watch report, the security
agencies are lifting people illegally.The 90 cases include three sons of prominent
opposition politicians who were picked up
The report said hundreds of people over several weeks in August 2016; one was
have been detained and held at secret released after six months of secret detention,
locations. while the other two remain disappeared.

The report is published today in the context of The disappearances are well-documented
disappearance of government critic Farhad and reported, yet the government persists in
Mazhar, who was found on a coach earlier this abhorrent practice with no regard for the
this week after his wife reported him missing. rule of law, said Brad Adams, Asia director
for HRW.
The report said political tensions are rising in
Bangladesh ahead of a national election due Bangladesh security forces appear to have a
next year. free hand in detaining people, deciding on
their guilt or innocence, and determining their
Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e- punishment, including whether they have the
Islami have said that tens of thousands of right to be alive.
their activists and supporters have been ar-
rested in recent years The Bangladesh government should immedi-
ately stop this widespread practice of en-
The 82-page report released on Thursday forced disappearances, order prompt, impar-
found that at least 90 people were victims of tial, and independent investigations into these
enforced disappearance in 2016 alone. In the allegations, provide answers to families, and
first five months of 2017, 48 disappearances prosecute security forces responsible for
were reported. There are allegations of se- such egregious rights violations, HRW said. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT
vere torture and ill-treatment while in secret FOR BANGLADESH NEWSLETTER
(See next page)
 ferent ways, including constant fear
for their lives. Their families go
Enforced through an emotional rollercoaster of ical activists have been disappeared by
hope and despair, waiting for news
Disappearances : that might never come. The disap-
peared person is removed from the
protection of law, a fundamental
A New Cruel right.
Awami League government started to
repress the opposition parties. Many polit-
the law enforcement agency and their
bullet-riddled dead body has been found
in several places. Between January 2009
and March 2016, human rights groups
have documented at least 250 people
forcibly disappeared in the country. Many

Culture
By Md Saiful Islam Right to security and dignity of a per- the profiles of victims suggest that disap-
Enforced disappearance is a relatively
new addition to state crime. It is nowa-
days the most abominable term in
Bangladesh. According to Amnesty
International, Enforced disappear-
ance is frequently used as a strategy
to spread terror within society. The
feeling of insecurity and fear it gener-
ates is not limited to the close rela-
tives of the disappeared, but also af-
fects communities and society as a
whole. It has become a global prob-
lem. Once largely used by military dic-
tatorships, disappearances now hap-
pen out of many internal conflicts, par-
ticularly when trying to repress politi-
cal opponents.
Enforced disappearance is a heinous
violation of human rights and an inter-
national crime. It affects victims indif- After coming into the power in 2009, The
Every disappearance violates a range witnesses have testified to the law en-
of human rights including:
son
Right not to be subjected to torture or
other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment
criminal law of Bangladesh and Interna-
Right to humane conditions of deten-
tion
Right to a legal personality
Right to a fair trial
Right to a family life
Right to life (if the disappeared per-
son is killed or their fate is unknown). culture, there are provisions regarding
(Source: Amnesty International)
Enforced disappearance has increased
in Bangladesh recently.
forcement agents involvement in these
cases, and the pattern of abductions and
pearances are used as a weapon by the
government to silence political oppo-
nents.
Enforced disappearance violates the
tional law:
The enforced disappearance violates
both the Bangladeshi law and Internation-
al law. Enforced disappearance is a new
cruel culture in our country. After the year
of 2009, it is massively seen in this coun-
try. The constitution of Bangladesh
strongly opposes this. Though it is a new
kidnap and abduction in the Penal Code,
1860. According to section 362 of the
Penal Code, 1860, a person means in-
duces any other person to go from one
place to another.
(See next page)

(from front page) habit of complete disregard for human The HRW also called on the government
rights, human life, and the rule of law. to "work to disband RAB, which has been
Secret Killing responsible for numerous and serious
The government doesnt even bother human rights violations, and replace with
In addition to enforced disappearances, denying these abuses, instead remaining a non-military counterterrorism unit".
there is an alarming trend of deaths oc- silent and relying on silence from the in-
curring in secret detention of state author- ternational community in return. This si-
The group also said the Bangladesh
ities, the report said. In one such case, on lence needs to end. Adams said. government should "ensure serious
June 13, 2016, Shahid Al Mahmud, a and independent investigations by
student activist of the Jamaat-e-IslamiHRW also urged the government of inviting the Office of the High Commis-
party, was dragged from his home and Bangladesh to "promptly investigate ex- sioner for Human Rights and relevant
taken. Though police officers were pre-isting allegations of enforced disappear- UN special procedures to visit Bangla-
sent, they remained passive. Two weeks ances, locate and release those held desh to investigate and make appro-
secretly by security forces, and prosecute priate recommendations to ensure
later, on July 1, police said they found
the perpetrators".
Shahids body after a gunfight with crimi- justice and accountability, as well as
nals. Shahids father told HRW that the reform of the security forces to act
It also called for an investigation into
police staged a gunfight drama to justify independently and professionally".
the killing. "allegations of deaths of individuals in so-
called crossfire or gunfights after they Read More; Next pages
The Bangladesh government is making a were already in security force custody".
 B
u
s
i
n

A new cruel culture: from Page 2 curity of person and the right to fair trial, this is the stinging incident for the par-
and, in particular cases the right to life. ents.
is said to commit the offence of abduction Investigations into enforced disappear-
when he by force compels or by any de- ances are rarely made in Bangladesh. Victims family faces serious eco-
ceitful means induces any other person to (Amnesty International)
go from one place to another.
nomic problems when
was the main bread- E the victim
winner of the
Enforced disappearance is one of the family. Children face psychological prob-
The punishment for murder after abduc- forms of cruel inhumane violence in lem when their father is disappeared.
tion is death penalty or imprisonment for Bangladesh. Opposition leaders and ac- They generally grow with social immaturi-
life as stipulated in section 302 of the tivists are the main victims of such inhu- ty.
Penal Code 1860. In addition to this, if mane activity. Every human being has the
kidnapping or abduction is committed with right to get justice when he is victimized The present government cant avoid liabil-
an intention to wrongful confinement, the by any other means but in the context of ity of enforced disappearance. Police,
offender shall be punished with custody Bangladesh the situation has become of RAB are also accountable for the disap-
of either description for a term, which may such nature that victim has no opportunity pearance because they are the main ac-
extend to seven years and shall also be to get minimum justice. The family mem- tors of this cruel culture. If this inhuman
liable to fine. shibir-activists bers and relatives of the person disap- culture continues, the government may
peared pass their days with great confu- lose trust from mass people though the
A serious violation of International Law is present government is passing over a
sion whether their beloved will return or
also committed by enforced disappear- crisis regarding their legitimacy.
not.
ance. Article 7 of the Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights (UDHR) asserted
Effect of enforced disappear-
that, All are equal before the law and are
entitled without any discrimination to ance:
equal protection of the law. All are entitled
Enforced disappearance has a horrific
to equal protection against any discrimi-
impact on the sufferers life and his family
nation in violation of this Declaration and
as well. Now in Bangladesh, such offen-
against any incitement to such discrimina-
sive treatment has become very cruel.
tion.
Many people including students are forci-
Bangladesh has international obligations bly disappeared by the law enforce agen-
as a state party to the International Cove- cy and after disappearance the victims
nant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), dead body is found in pond, river, field,
as enforced disappearances violate a crematory and so on. Victims relatives
number of rights mentioned in the cove- dont know what his fault was. When a
nant, including the right to liberty and se- son of a family becomes disappeared,
 Immediately disclose to the families the fate and whereabouts of Ab-
dullahil Amaan Azmi, Mir Ahmed Bin Qasem and Sajedul Islam Sumon

Charge all three individuals with an internationally recognized criminal

offence or release them immediately; and

Put an end to enforced disappearances in the country by bringing all

of those suspected of criminal responsibility for that crime and other hu-
man rights violations to justice in fair trials before ordinary civilian
courts without recourse to death penalty.

The three men Abdullahil Amaan Azmi,
Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem and Sajedul Islam
Sumon, all have not just been deprived of
their liberty but there is also a complete
lack of information about their fate. This
unacceptable situation places them outside
the protection of the law. As with all people
subjected to enforced disappearances they
are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment,
or even death, in custody.
Sajedul Islam Sumon, a Dhaka neigh-
bourhood chief of the main opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Officers from the country's elite Rapid Ac-
tion Battalion (RAB) detained Sumon and
five other BNP activists on December 4,
2013. This was one month before a contro-
versial 2014 general election which the
BNP boycotted.
Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, a former Briga-
dier General in the Bangladesh army, was
arrested at his family home in Dhaka on 22
August 2016. About 30 officers, some of
whom claimed to be from DB, took him into
custody late at night from his home and the
officers also badly assaulted some staff in
the apartment building, according to credi-
ble sources. As in Chowdhurys case, po-
lice in Dhaka refused to accept a general
diary note when the family tried to file it.
To date, the authorities in Bangladesh
have continued to deny their role in the
deprivations of liberty. This is despite sev-
eral witness testimonies pointing to the
involvement of security forces in the ar-
rests. Credible sources have told Amnesty
International that the men have been
moved between diferent security agencies,
the Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq
told media that the children of war crimi-
nals are hatching conspiracies, and that
the government had to stay alert against
them.
Since 2009, enforced disappearances
have become alarmingly routine in Bangla-
desh. Amnesty International has docu-
mented many cases where individuals
have been arrested by members of the
security forces and never heard from
again. According to the Bangladeshi hu-
man rights organisation Odhikar, there
have been at least 14 enforced disappear-
ances so far in 2016 and at least 64 in
2015.3 Torture and other forms of ill-
treatment is rife in detention in Bangla-
desh.
1.Amnesty International and Human Rights

including the police, the Rapid Action Bat- Watch, Bangladesh: End illegal detentions im-
"Some 20 construction workers who were
talion (a police unit widely implicated in mediately, 14 August 2016, available at https://
on the site told us RAB officers picked
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/08/
them up and led them away on a RAB van. human rights abuses), and the Directorate bangladesh-end-illegal-detentions-immediately/
They were never returned," Islam told AFP. General of Forces Intelligence (the military
intelligence agency), but their current 2 War criminals children hatching conspiracies:
"For the last three years and eight months whereabouts are unknown. Law minister, The Daily Star, 8 September
we've knocked on doors, gone to every 2016, available at http://www.thedailystar.net/
agency's office and met the home minister Out of the people who disappeared two country/war-criminals-children-hatching-
are sons of high-profile senior opposition conspiracies-law-minister-1282780
to know my brother's whereabouts," she
said. politicians who were convicted by the Inter-
3 Odhikar, statistics on enforced disappearances
national Crimes Tribunal (ICT), a Bangla-
2009-2016, available at
Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, a Supreme deshi court established to investigate mass
http://1dgy051vgyxh41o8cj16kk7s19f2.wpengine
Court lawyer, was arrested from his home scale human rights violations committed .netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/
on 9 August, 2016 by several men in plain- during the 1971 War of Independence. Bin Statistics_Disappearance_2009-2016.pdf
clothes. The men did not identify them- Quasem's father, Mir Quasem Ali, was
selves as being associated with any securi- executed in September 2016. Abdullahil 4. The disappeared in Bangladesh: BBC News

ty forces. His wife and cousin were present Amaan Azmis father, Ghulam Azam, was http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p057w9h4
during the arrest. Mir Ahmed Bin Qasems given a 90-year prison sentence in 2013
wife filed a general diary complaint shortly and died of a stroke in prison a year later. 5. Activists Secretly Detained For Years Without
News: HRW https://www.youtube.com/watch?
after his arrest. It is still unclear why the three sons have v=OKChMkKUAo8&feature=player_embedded
been arrested, but on 8 September 2016

Human Rights and Development for Bangladesh (HRDB) / email: humanrightsbd@gmail.com