Bangladesh: Death in 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 OMCT SOS-Torture network, about the severe beatings and the death in custody under unclear circumstances of Mr. Kamal Uddin (28 years old), resident of the village North Birinchi under Ward No.5 of Feni Pouroshobha, on 21 January 2008 as well as of the severe beatings suffered by Mr. Abul Khayer on 20 January 2008.

According to the information received, Mr. Kamal Uddin was arrested on 20 January 2008 by Bangladesh Riffles (BDR) soldiers at his house while having a dinner with his family and relatives, including Mr. Abul Khayer, his wife, Ms. Rahima Begum, and their child, Md. Amir Hossain (3 ½ years old). The BDR soldiers reportedly entered into the house by breaking down the bamboo walls and took Mr. Kamal Uddin and Mr. Abul Khayer outside onto the courtyard by tying them up. Then, a BDR soldier reportedly made a phone call to an unknown person and confirmed their arrests following what a magistrate arrived. The BDR reportedly asked Mr. Kamal Uddin where the heroine was kept and began to kick, punch and beat him with iron rods while Mr. Abul Khayer was laid down on the ground and allegedly trampled on his thighs with boots and hit on his cheeks with rifle butts. The BDR then reportedly searched the house.

According to the same information, Mr. Kamal Uddin was severely beaten for two and half hours and when he screamed out of pain, he was allegedly silenced with his elder daughter’s shawl put in his mouth. At a certain point, Mr. Kamal Uddin reportedly indicated with his hands that he needed water; the BDR soldier allegedly took the putty-powder that it had found while searching Mr. Kamal Uddin’s room and diluted it into a pail of water making it a putty solution. Then, they made Mr. Kamal Uddin drink it. According to other witnesses to the scene, the intensity of the beatings increased after no heroine was found in any of the rooms despite a thorough search. At around 2:30am on 21 January 2008, Mr. Kamal Uddin, Mr. Abdul Khayer, his wife and child were taken to the police station.

On the same day, Mr. Kamal Uddin’s wife reportedly went to the police station at 7:00am, accompanied by her brother-in-law, where she was informed that her husband and Mr. Abul Khayer had been transferred to Sadar hospital, while Mr. Khayer’s wife and son were kept in police custody. At the hospital, Mr. Kamal Uddin’s wife saw her husband’s body lying on the floor of Ward No. 4. However, she was not allowed to approach it. According to the brother’s testimony, he saw signs of beatings on the back, chest, lower abdomen, hands and feet along with deep wounds made with iron rods on the right thigh where the skin was scraped. There were also reportedly wounds on the left and right hands. After completion of the post mortem, police brought Mr. Kamal Uddin’s body to their house for the burial ceremony. The burial was carried out under the custody of the police.

According to authorities’ reports, a taskforce had been formed on 20 January 2008 to operate an anti narcotics drive, under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner (DC), and following information received, a team conducted an anti narcotics operation at the North Birinchi village at 11:00pm, which lead to the arrest of Mr. Kamal Uddin, Mr. Kayer and his wife. Apparently two bottles of Indian Phensidyl, four bottles of Ricodex, one bottle of Mutiniram and one bottle of whisky were retrieved[1].

According to the authorities, when the BDR personnel tried to arrest Mr. Kamal Uddin, he tried to run away and injured himself by colliding with a tree. Further, Mr. Kamal Uddin would have been highly intoxicated due to excess drinking of alcohol that caused his death. It is also reported that the magistrate, who lead the taskforce operation, stated that Mr. Kamal Uddin was slapped in order to have him talk.

According to the latest information, a petition was submitted before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate of Feni on 28 January 2008 for beating to death. Mr. Kamal Uddin’s wife was allegedly told to withdraw the case and to find a compromise with the accused, which she reportedly refused. The petition was numbered 26/2008 and was filed under sections 302/34 of the Penal Code. According to the information, the Chief Judicial Magistrate recorded the evidence given by five witnesses and ordered the Officer-in-Charge of Feni Model Police Station, Kamrul Hasan to file a First Information Report (FIR) and investigate the case.

Mr. Abul Khayer and his wife, Ms. Rahima Begum, reportedly remain held at the Feni District Jail under the Narcotics Control Act. Their child is currently being detained with his mother in the female ward. OMCT is particular concern about this situation as the detention conditions are reportedly very harsh.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about these events, in particular with regard to the severe beatings against Mr. Kamal Uddin and Mr. Abul Khayer and the death of Mr. Kamal Uddin, death which exact circumstances remain unclear. OMCT calls upon the authorities to launch a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, 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. Abul Khayer, his wife, Ms. Rahima Begum, and their child, Md. Amir Hossain;
2. Guarantee immediate and unconditional access to their family, their lawyers and any medical treatment they may require;
3. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in particular into the beatings of Mr. Kamal Uddin and Mr. Abul Khayer and death of Mr. Kamal Uddin, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the civil penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
4. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to the victims;
5. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

• Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Supreme Court Building Ranna, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh, Fax +880 2 9565058
• Mr. A. F. Hassan Ariff, Law Advisor, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: +880 2 7168557
• Mr. Kazi Habibul Awal, Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: info@minlaw.gov.bd, Fax: +880 2 7171536
• Major General (retd.) M. A. Matin, Home Advisor, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: mediacell@homemin-bd.org
• Mr. Abdul Karim, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax no. of IGP - +880 2 9563362, 9563363
• Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government, Office of the Chief Advisor, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fax : +880 2 8113243 / 3244 / 1015 / 1490, Email: Info@pmo.gov.bd
• Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Supreme Court Building, Ranna, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh, Fax +880 2 9565058
• Barrister Fida M Kamal, Attorney General of Bangladesh, Office of the Attorney General Supreme Court Building, Ramna, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9561568
• Mr. Nur Mohammad, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bangladesh Police, Police Headquarters' Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh.
• Mr. Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, Deputy Commissioner (DC), Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Sirajganj, Bangladesh, Fax: +880 751 63901
• Md. Alamgir Rahman, Superintendent of Police (SP), Office of the Superintendent of Police, Sirajganj, Bangladesh, Faz: +880 751 62415
• 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.

Geneva, 6 May 2008

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

[1] Phensidyl, Ricodex and Mutiniram are narcotic drugs smuggled into Bangladesh from India.