Arbitrary detention of Mr. Shahidul Islam

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by the Centre for Organisation Research & Education (CORE) about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Shahidul Islam, a leading human rights defender on land, water and river issues in the southwest region of Bangladesh, and Executive Director of the development NGO Uttaran, based in Satkhira and which works in favour of the rights of the landless people. In particular, Mr. Shahidul Islam has been campaigning for years against the Khulna-Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project (KJDRP), funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to the information received, on January 27, 2006, military members picked Mr. Shahidul Islam from the training centre of Uttaran in Tala Upazilla and brought him to an interrogation cell, where he has allegedly been tortured. On the same day, the military handed Mr. Islam to the local police station.

It has to be recalled that on January 11, 2007, President Iajuddin Ahmed proclaimed a state of emergency in the face of violent political protests and a multiparty alliance threatening to blockade voting places before the planned 22 January elections, which were then indefinitely postponed. Under the state of emergency, some basic constitutional rights, including those of freedom of speech, assembly, and movement, have been suspended. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies have been allowed to enter into any place without any warrant and arrest any individual on suspicion, in order to ensure “peaceful” atmosphere before and after the first scheduled elections. Since the new caretaker government assumed power, it has called on the army to stay in the streets pending elections.

On January 28, 2006, Mr. Shahidul Islam was given one month’ detention order under the so-called Special Powers Act and was sent to jail. No official charges were brought against him.

The Special Powers Act 1974 provides for the detention for long periods of individuals who might commit “prejudicial acts” against the State. Under Section 2(f) of the Act, “prejudicial acts” include undermining the sovereignty or security of Bangladesh, creating or exciting feelings of enmity and hatred between different communities and interfering with the maintenance of law and order. The Act provides no guidance on the burden of proof necessary for the government to conclude that an individual is likely to commit a prejudicial act. As a result, detentions under the Special Powers Act generally rely on allegations with very little evidence.

The Observatory expresses its deepest concern regarding the detention of Mr. Shahidul Islam and fears for his physical and psychological integrity. The Observatory also considers his detention, which aims at sanctioning his human rights activities, as arbitrary.

Action requested:

Please write to the Bangladeshi authorities urging them to :

1. take all necessary measures to guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Shahidul Islam;
2. release Mr. Shahidul Islam immediately and unconditionally, as his detention is arbitrary;
3. order an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture of Mr. Shahidul Islam in order to identify those responsible, bring them to justice and sentence them according to law;
4. put an end to all acts of harassment against Mr. Shahidul Islam, as well as against any human rights defenders in Bangladesh;
5. comply 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”;
6. 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.

Addresses:

• Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser, Head of the Interim Government, Fax : +880 2 8113243, Email: Info@pmo.gov.bd
• Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: mediacell@homemin-bd.org
• Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: info@minlaw.gov.bd
• Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva, 65 rue de Lausanne, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 738 46 16, E-mail: mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int
• Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Brussels, 29-31 rue J. Jordaens, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 646 59 98; Email: bdootbrussels@freegates.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Bangladesh in your respective countries.

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Geneva - Paris, January 30, 2006

Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 33 (0) 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 (0) 22 809 49 29
Email : Appeals@fidh-omct.org