Bangladesh
17.10.01
Urgent Interventions
Bangladesh: Tipu Sultan fears further attacks
Case BGD 220201.1
Follow-up of Case BGD 220201
Independence of the Judiciary / Fear for security
Geneva, October 17, 2001
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Bangladesh.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims (BRCT), a member of the OMCT network, of Tipu Sultan's return to Bangladesh after having received medical treatment in Thailand, and the absence of progress made by the police in the investigations concerning his case over the past eight months.
According to the information received, 27-year old Tipu Sultan, a journalist from the United News of Bangladesh (UNB), a private news agency, returned to Bangladesh on September 2nd 2001, after having spent four months in Bankok, Thailand, where he moved on April 8th 2001 in the wake of an attack by a gang allegedly supported by Zainal Abedin Hazari, an Awami League Member of Parliament in Feni, which left him seriously injured. He reportedly went to the Bunrungrad Hospital in Thailand in order to receive proper treatment. Following the attack, it was feared that Tipu Sultan would be permanently disabled, but his condition is steadily improving thanks to the medical treatment he has received. According to reports, Tipu Sultan can now walk, and has regained the use of an estimated 60 percent of his right hand and 75 percent of his left hand, following several operations on his limbs, which were performed by Dr Sittthipotn.
According to the information received, Tipu Sultan reportedly managed to collect Bangladeshi Taka 2,289,454 through his "Tipu Sultans Fund raising Account," which, when added to the Taka 15,000 donated by former Home Affairs Minister Mohammad Nasim when he visited Tipu Sultan at Pongu hospital, provided him with the financial means to afford the operations in question.
This beating is believed to be related to an incident about which Tipu Sultan had written an article 9 days before he was attacked. According to the information, Tipu Sultan, as a district correspondent of UNB, wrote a report on the destruction of the newly built Sultana Memorial Junior Girls School at Omarpur, under Daganbhuyan Thana in the Feni district, by a gang allegedly supported by local M.P. Joynal Hazari of the ruling party, the Bangladesh Awami League. The reasons being that the school management had not invited Jainal Abedin Hazari M.P. to inaugurate the school.
According to the information recieved, the law suit that Tipu Sultan filed in the aftermath of his attack has not led to an investigation being launched, in spite of the former Home Affairs Minister's promise to look after the case. Alongside Tipu Sultan’s legal action, his lawyer Dr. Kamal Hossain has also filed a writ case against the government with the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, which has also not progressed. As a result of this inactivity, the persons guilty of having beaten Tipu Sultan have not been brought to justice, and he now fears that they may again attack him.
According to our sources, Sub Inspector Bipul Barua of Feni Police Station is in charge of investigating the case. The investigations were not pursued during Tipu Sultan’s absence, but there are hopes that, with his return, and the fact that there is a new national Government in power, following recent elections in Bangladesh, the investigations will now proceed.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT urges the newly elected Bangladeshi Government to ensure that the persons involved in the beatings be brought to justice. OMCT is also gravely concerned for Tipu Sultan’s physical and psychological integrity, as he lives in fear of again being the target of attacks, and urges the Government to guarantee his safety until the perpetrators of these crimes are found and tried.
Brief reminder of the situation
An eyewitnesses informed the BRCT Fact-finding team that a gang picked Tipu Sultan up in a white color microbus between the Grand Trunk Road in Feni town and Salam Community Center at Shahid Mizan Road. They beat Tipu Sultan with a hockey stick, a rod and a thick stick (like a baseball bat). After beating him for some time his assailants took him to the Zahir Raihan Hall premises in the town. There, they again beat Tipu Sultan’s arms and legs with a thick weapon for about 10. As a result, his legs were broken, and it was feared that the severity of these injuries may have lead to permanent disability. He was then left lying in the street. Two days after the incident, on January 28th, 2001, he fled from Feni to Dhaka with the help of his family, due to fears of further attacks. His family members are also considered to be at risk.
According to the information received, on January 27th 2001, Tipu Sultan filed a case with Feni Sadar Thana accusing Zainal Abedin Hazari, and fourteen others, of having organised or carried the attack, but it was reported that the Police Officer in Charge, Mushtak Ahmed refused to register his First Information Report. Furthermore, although BRCT sent a report of their fact finding mission to the government, no response has been received.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Tipu Sultan;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these beatings, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedom throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses :
· Hon’ble Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister’s Office, Old Parliament House, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fax: 0088 / 02 / 8113244 or 8113243, e-mail : ps1@pmo.bdonline.com
· Mr Dr Q. M Badruddoza Chowdury, Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Segun Bagicha, Dhaka, Fax: 0088 / 02 / 8617448 or 9562163, e-mail : pspmo@bangla.net
· Mr Alhaj Altaf Hossain Chowdury, Minister of Home Affairs, Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. Fax: 0088 / 02 / 8696667
Please also write to the embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.
Geneva, October 17, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case BGD 220201
Independence of the Judiciary / Fear for security
Geneva, October 17, 2001
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Bangladesh.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims (BRCT), a member of the OMCT network, of Tipu Sultan's return to Bangladesh after having received medical treatment in Thailand, and the absence of progress made by the police in the investigations concerning his case over the past eight months.
According to the information received, 27-year old Tipu Sultan, a journalist from the United News of Bangladesh (UNB), a private news agency, returned to Bangladesh on September 2nd 2001, after having spent four months in Bankok, Thailand, where he moved on April 8th 2001 in the wake of an attack by a gang allegedly supported by Zainal Abedin Hazari, an Awami League Member of Parliament in Feni, which left him seriously injured. He reportedly went to the Bunrungrad Hospital in Thailand in order to receive proper treatment. Following the attack, it was feared that Tipu Sultan would be permanently disabled, but his condition is steadily improving thanks to the medical treatment he has received. According to reports, Tipu Sultan can now walk, and has regained the use of an estimated 60 percent of his right hand and 75 percent of his left hand, following several operations on his limbs, which were performed by Dr Sittthipotn.
According to the information received, Tipu Sultan reportedly managed to collect Bangladeshi Taka 2,289,454 through his "Tipu Sultans Fund raising Account," which, when added to the Taka 15,000 donated by former Home Affairs Minister Mohammad Nasim when he visited Tipu Sultan at Pongu hospital, provided him with the financial means to afford the operations in question.
This beating is believed to be related to an incident about which Tipu Sultan had written an article 9 days before he was attacked. According to the information, Tipu Sultan, as a district correspondent of UNB, wrote a report on the destruction of the newly built Sultana Memorial Junior Girls School at Omarpur, under Daganbhuyan Thana in the Feni district, by a gang allegedly supported by local M.P. Joynal Hazari of the ruling party, the Bangladesh Awami League. The reasons being that the school management had not invited Jainal Abedin Hazari M.P. to inaugurate the school.
According to the information recieved, the law suit that Tipu Sultan filed in the aftermath of his attack has not led to an investigation being launched, in spite of the former Home Affairs Minister's promise to look after the case. Alongside Tipu Sultan’s legal action, his lawyer Dr. Kamal Hossain has also filed a writ case against the government with the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, which has also not progressed. As a result of this inactivity, the persons guilty of having beaten Tipu Sultan have not been brought to justice, and he now fears that they may again attack him.
According to our sources, Sub Inspector Bipul Barua of Feni Police Station is in charge of investigating the case. The investigations were not pursued during Tipu Sultan’s absence, but there are hopes that, with his return, and the fact that there is a new national Government in power, following recent elections in Bangladesh, the investigations will now proceed.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT urges the newly elected Bangladeshi Government to ensure that the persons involved in the beatings be brought to justice. OMCT is also gravely concerned for Tipu Sultan’s physical and psychological integrity, as he lives in fear of again being the target of attacks, and urges the Government to guarantee his safety until the perpetrators of these crimes are found and tried.
Brief reminder of the situation
An eyewitnesses informed the BRCT Fact-finding team that a gang picked Tipu Sultan up in a white color microbus between the Grand Trunk Road in Feni town and Salam Community Center at Shahid Mizan Road. They beat Tipu Sultan with a hockey stick, a rod and a thick stick (like a baseball bat). After beating him for some time his assailants took him to the Zahir Raihan Hall premises in the town. There, they again beat Tipu Sultan’s arms and legs with a thick weapon for about 10. As a result, his legs were broken, and it was feared that the severity of these injuries may have lead to permanent disability. He was then left lying in the street. Two days after the incident, on January 28th, 2001, he fled from Feni to Dhaka with the help of his family, due to fears of further attacks. His family members are also considered to be at risk.
According to the information received, on January 27th 2001, Tipu Sultan filed a case with Feni Sadar Thana accusing Zainal Abedin Hazari, and fourteen others, of having organised or carried the attack, but it was reported that the Police Officer in Charge, Mushtak Ahmed refused to register his First Information Report. Furthermore, although BRCT sent a report of their fact finding mission to the government, no response has been received.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Tipu Sultan;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these beatings, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedom throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses :
· Hon’ble Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister’s Office, Old Parliament House, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fax: 0088 / 02 / 8113244 or 8113243, e-mail : ps1@pmo.bdonline.com
· Mr Dr Q. M Badruddoza Chowdury, Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Segun Bagicha, Dhaka, Fax: 0088 / 02 / 8617448 or 9562163, e-mail : pspmo@bangla.net
· Mr Alhaj Altaf Hossain Chowdury, Minister of Home Affairs, Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. Fax: 0088 / 02 / 8696667
Please also write to the embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.
Geneva, October 17, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.