URGENT APPEAL:Human rights defender & lawyer Mr. Shahanur Islam along with his two comrades physically attacked during an investigation

BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMME

URGENT APPEAL CASE: BIHR-HRD-01-11

DATE:  January 11, 2011

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BANGLADESH: Human rights defender & lawyer Mr. Shahanur Islam along with his two comrades physically attacked during an investigation

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Dear Friends

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights is deeply concerned about the recent incident of physical assault and threats of Mr. Shahanur Islam, BIHR’s Executive Director and lawyer in Bangladesh.

During an investigation on the 9^th of January, 2011 Mr. Shahanur Islam and his two fact-finding officers were physically attacked, threatened and looted all their valuable belongings in Thakurgaon district.This incident is unfortunately one of many that has taken place over the past few years, where Mr. Islam has been exposed to threats and assault as a result of his work to protect minorities in the country. Human rights defenders are frequently subjected to harassment from authorities in Bangladesh. The incident must be investigated and appropriate sanctions be meted to the police authority in question. BIHR urges for the immediate intervention to ensure the protection of human rights defenders and lawyers in their daily work in Bangladesh.

BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

Name of the Victim : i) Mr. Shahanur Islam, General Secretary and Executive Director, Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR), member of the Bangladesh Bar Council (Membership # 12766) and Bar Association in Dhaka District (Membership # 11177).

During the time of his duties, he moved many cases against the perpetrators as a lawyer and some of them have been punished. He also conducted many investigations and fact-finding missions on human rights violations as well as issued local and international urgent appeals requesting attention to concerned authorities.

ii) Md. Shohel Ahmed, Fact Finding Officer, BIHR

iii) Md. Uzzal Hossain, Social Worker, BIHR

Name of the Perpetrators : Unidentified 10/12 peoples

Date of Incident : January 9, 2011, around at 1.30 pm

Place of Incident : Bania/Jhargaon near about Gorea under police Station and district of Thakurgaon

FACT DETAILS:

On the 9^th of January, 2011 a fact-finding team composing of Mr. Shahanur Islam, Executive Director of Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and two fact-finding officers, BIHR went to Bania/Jhargaon area in Thakurgaon district to investigate the incident of the ill-treatment of a minority woman.

After reaching the spot, the fact-finding team interviewed the witnesses and the local people. In the mean time, 10-12 unidentified people came to the spot and questioned the fact-finding team about their reason of presence. One of the perpetrators identified himself as being the chairman of the local union Parishad, another perpetrator indentified himself as a member of Parishad. After the members of the fact-finding team identified themselves, the perpetrators accused them of being involved in the murder of a young boy, trading with a stolen motorbike and taking part in fraudulent dollar transactions. Then, one of the perpetrators physically attacked Mr. Islam and took away his mobile phone, while he was trying to call the local police station for help.

Meanwhile, the perpetrators also attacked the two fact-finding officers and took away their mobiles as well.

The perpetrators – threatening the members of the fact-finding team with a pistol - looted the video camera, laptop, secret pen video camera, still camera, documents, money bag and all other valuable belongings of the fact finding team, amounting approximately to  BDT 3,50,000.

When Mr. Islam tried to shout for help, he was physically attacked. Then the attackers forced the victims - by threatening them with pistol - to pose with dollars while the perpetrators took pictures of them. After taking the pictures, the perpetrators warned the fact-finding team not to inform the police about this incident, otherwise they will get these photos published in the newspapers and kill the victims. Finally the perpetrators fled away on some unregistered motorbikes.

Then Mr. Islam went to went to Thakurgaon Police Station and tried to file the case with the Thakurgaon police station on the same day, but the officer in charge refused to file it. Rather he sent one Sub inspector Mr. Biswanath with us to verify the incident instead of registering the case. But during the verification, the sub inspector forces us to back the police station without identifying the spot. On the next day of the incident in morning Mr. Islam submitted a written First Information Report (Ezahar) mentioning the incident, but the OC was unwilling to register it, rather he asked Mr. Islam to submit a written EJAHAR to the duty officer as well as told him to back the Dhaka. Mr. Islam submitted the EJAHAR to duty officer around at 12.30 pm and back to the Dhaka according to his instruction, but the officer in charge registered the case around at 6.15 pm on 10^th January, 2011. Though the case was registered but he did not register it in proper section. He registered the case under 406/420/323/506 (2) of Penal Code instead of 406/420/323/395/506 (2) and arms act with out consulting with Mr. Islam.

BIHR FINDINGS:

This is not any isolated instance of such kind of attacked or human rights defenders in Bangladesh. It is a very common phenomenon for the professionals like human rights defenders of Bangladesh facing attacked, harassment, ill treatment, death threats from the terrorist, law-enforcing agencies and security forces. It is well-known that Bangladesh has cultivated one of the best cultures of impunity to alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses despite the nation’s presence in the UN Human Rights Council since May 2006. Instead of improving the country’s human rights records the government of Bangladesh has paved the ways to degrade the rights of the citizens through various means of violations.

RECOMENDATION:

i) Take all necessary measures to guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Shahanur Islam and others two victims;

ii) Order a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned incident ill treatment, the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;

iii) Put an end to all acts of harassment against Mr. Islam as well as against all human rights defenders in Bangladesh;

iv) Accomply with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

v) Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Bangladesh.

SUGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the relevant authorities to investigate this alleged incident of violence ensuring the physical security of the victim Mr. Shahanur Islam and his family. We trust that you will take immediate action regarding this serious matter and look forward to your favorable response.

Thank You

Adv. Mohammed Alamgir

President

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR)

27, Bijoy Nagar, B-17, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

Phone: +88 017 20308080; Fax: + 88 028352166; Skype: bihr.bd

Email: bihr.bd@gmail.com, www.bihrbd.blogspot.com