Arbitrary detention, torture and subsequent death in Navy custody

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by ODHIKAR, a member of the SOS-Torture network, of the arbitrary arrest, torture and subsequent death of Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal (32 years old) while in Navy custody, on 21 February 2007 in Char Fashion, Bhola.

According to the information received, 11 Navy officers (9 of whom were wearing civilian clothing) led by Lieutenant Commander SM Reza of Char Fashion Naval Contingent arrested Char Fashion Municipality Commissioner Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal at his office on 21 February 2007 under allegations of arms possession. When the victim denied the allegations against him and failed to fulfill the Navy personnel’s request to hand in the arms, he was blindfolded, had his hands tied together with rope and was severely beaten by the Navy personnel.

Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal was then reportedly dragged home by the rope in search of the alleged weapons. Once home, he was thrown to the ground and kicked violently in the eyes of his wife, who was also beaten, and his two children (3 and 5 years old), who were slapped and held at gunpoint. After damaging his property, the Navy personnel dragged the victim on to a neighbor’s house, who reportedly provided them with her son’s toy gun in an attempt to fulfill the Navy officer’s request to hand in any arms.

According to the information received, he was then taken to the nearby house of a former local Member of Parliament which was unoccupied at the time. The Navy personnel broke all the locks of the 4-story building, damaged this second property while looking for the arms, and indiscriminately beat the house’s caretaker when he attempted to intervene.

It is also reported that Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal was then taken to a house next door, where he was forcefully fed red chili powder, rice husks and salt in an attempt to make him hand in the arms. It was then that the victim, hands tied up and blindfolded, was thrown into a nearby pond after having asked for some water. Furthermore, after having been rescued from near drowning, Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal was taken to the Navy contingent, where he was allegedly stripped, beaten severely, and thrown into another pond.

According to an eyewitness, when Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal arrived at the Char Fashion Upazila Health Complex, the doctor in duty declared him dead. His body was then sent to the Bhola Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem analysis. One of the doctors stated to Odhikar that the victim died long before being admitted to the hospital. He also reportedly informed Odhikar that there was a lot of water inside the dead body, marks had been left on the wrists by the ropes, pieces of skin were falling off the body due to severe bruising, the victim’s testicles were also bruised, his throat was distended, and some of his toe and finger nails appeared to be missing. The doctors reportedly sent a report to the Char Fashion Police Station.

Odhikar fact-finding officer visited the Navy Contingent to talk with Lieutenant SM Reza who reportedly claimed not having arrested Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal to kill him and that Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal was not meant to live a long life. He also threatened to have the fact-finding officer arrested as a member of JMB (an underground radical group). According to Odhikar’s report, Lieutenant Commander Ashraf of Char Fashion Naval Contingent later stated that Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal was a threat to the people of his locality and was arrested based on a number of their complaints (which appears to contradict the people’s declarations). Lieutenant Commander Ahsraf also reportedly stated to Odhikar fact-finding officer that, following Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal alleged statement, the navy conducted an arm search operation in various places and found an Indian pistol in a house nearby his home. When they untied Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal’s wrists in order to take a picture of him with the pistol at the contingent, he allegedly tried to escape but fell into the pond. He was rescued and sent to the hospital where he died.

According to the information, local journalists received threats from the Navy and were told only to write that “Dulal jumped into a pond and died when trying to flee”. Furthermore, Lieutenant SM Reza reportedly tried to bribe the victim’s father for his signature on a blank piece of paper and his assurance that the victim’s family would not take any legal action, which the victim’s father refused to do.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the alleged torture and subsequent death of Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal while in Navy custody and is preocuppied for the physical and psychological integrity of his family. OMCT calls upon the authorities to launch a thorough and impartial investigation into these allegations, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law for impunity should not prevail. Finally, OMCT urges the authorities to guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international humanitarian law and human rights standards.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:

1. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal’s family;
2. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the civil penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
3. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal’s family;
4. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

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 embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.

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Geneva, 2 March 2007

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