Release of Mr. Mahmudur Rahman

New information

BGD 001 / 0610 / OBS 075.2

Release / Judicialharassment

Bangladesh

March21, 2011

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention inthefollowing situation in Bangladesh.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sourcesabout the release on March 17, 2011 of Mr. Mahmudur Rahman from the Gazipur district jail after havingserved nine months and a half in prison. Mr. Rahman is the Editor of theopposition Bangladeshi newspaper Amar Desh, which regularly reports on corruption cases.

On August 19, 2010, the Appellate Division of theSupreme Court had sentenced him to six months of imprisonment for “grosscontempt of court” for having published a report on April 21, 2010 where therole of the Attorney General's Office was criticized. The Court also fined Mr.Mahmudur Rahman with 100,000 Taka (about 1,130 Euros). The contempt of courtnotice was brought before the Court by two lawyers reported to be supporters ofthe Government.

On the same day, the Court also sentenced Mr. OliullahNomana, staff reporter of the Daily Amar DeshandMr. HashmatAli,publisher of the same newspaper,to fines of 10,000 Taka(about 113 euros) for contempt of court in relation to their responsibility in thepublication of the report. Moreover, Mr. Nomana was sentenced to one monthimprisonment.

The Observatory welcomes the release of Mr. MahmudurRahman and thanks all the persons, institutions and organisations whointervened in his favour.

However, the Observatory remains concerned that Mr. MahmudurRahman remains on bail and prosecuted for 48 cases[1]under numerous charges including “defamation”, “sedition” and “anti terrorismacts”. The Observatory firmlydenounces the ongoing acts of judicial and administrative harassment against Mr. Mahmudur Rahman and his colleagues which seem to merely aim atsanctioning their freedom of expression, as well as the arbitrary detention andacts of ill-treatment Mr. Rahman previously suffered.

Backgroundinformation:

On June 1, 2010, the Tejgaon Thana Officer-in-Chargeraided the press office of Amar Desh with armed forces, and declared itsclosure. On June 2, 2010 at approximately 4 a.m., agents of the Tejgaon policestation entered the Amar Desh offices, arrested Mr. Mahmudur Rahman, whowas remaining on the spot, and took him to the Dhaka Cantonment Police Station (CPS) for interrogation. The police forces alsoresorted to excessive use of force against the protesting journalists whoattended the scene, beating them with sticks.

On the same day at 4 p.m., Mr. Rahman was reportedlycharged under Sections 419, 420 and 500 of the Penal Code for “cheating bypersonation”, “dishonestly inducing delivery of property” and “defamation”.

In the early morning, the Tejgaon Police Station hadalso filed a case against him (Case No. 2(6)2010), as well as against the AmarDesh Deputy Editor Mr. Syed Abdal Ahmed, the Assistant Editor Mr. SanjeebChowdhury, the City EditorMr. Jahed Chowdhury,reporter Alauddin Arif, and the office assistant Saiful Islam,as well as against400 unnamed people for, interalia, “obstructing Government officials to perform their duties” during Mr.Rahman's arrest, under Sections 143, 342, 332, 353, 186, 506, 114 of thePenal Code.

On June 6, 2010, another case (Case No.5 (6) 2010)was filed against Mr. Rahman at the Kowali police station for, inter alia,“obstructing Government officials to perform their duties” under Sections 143,186, 332, 353, 225B/34 of the Penal Code, while he was already in custody.

On June 7, 2010, Mr.Rahman was placed under a four-day detention period, on the basis of the twolatter cases.

Messrs. Syed Abdal Ahmed, SanjeebChowdhury, Jahed Chowdhury, Alauddin Arif and Saiful Islam, were not arrested, but were given apre-arrest bail from the High Court Division of the Supreme Court on June 10,2010.

Moreover, on June 8, 2010, the Magistrates Court No.7 issued another four-day detention period in Uttara Model Police Stationagainst Mr. Rahman, for “printing banned leaflets” under Section 6(1) of theAnti Terrorism Act 2009, as well as an additional four-day detention period for“conspiring against the State” on the basis of a case lodged under Sections121A (“waging war or attempting to wage war against the State”), 124A(“sedition”) and 114 (“abettor present when offence is committed”) of the PenalCode, leading to a total remand period of 12 days.

On June 9, 2010, the Magistrates Court ordered thatMr. Rahman be taken in remand to the Tejgaon police station. However, incontravention to these orders, Mr. Rahman was kept in the CPS, inside theCantonment area.

Mr. Rahman further reported that on the night ofJune 10, 2010, five or six men entered his cell and removed his clothes, andthen proceeded to hit him very hard with their elbows in his chest and back,whereupon he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he found himself lying in theroom of the Second Officer of the CPS.

On June 12, 2010, Mr. Rahman was brought before theMagistrates Court on the basis of Case No. 2(6) 2010. He then reported that hewas subjected to acts of inhuman and degrading treatment while in detention.

He was reportedly unable to stand on the dock andthe Magistrate allowed him to sit. The Magistrates Court ordered that Mr. Rahmanbe sent to jail and undergo a full medical check-up on the basis of jailregulations. The Magistrate also allowed Mr. Rahman's lawyers to meet him forhalf an hour.

On the same day, the police of the Detective Branchof Dhaka Metropolitan area submitted an application seeking a four-day remandto question Mr. Rahman regarding the case filed at the Uttara police stationunder the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Act. The remand was granted by the MagistratesCourt. Mr. Rahman was then taken to the Detective Branch offices in Dhaka onthat day, without any medical check-up being performed.

On June 16, 2010, Mr. Rahman was brought before theCourt of Magistrate Ismail Hossain after completion of four days remand at theDetective Branch office in the case under the Anti Terrorism Act 2009. TheMagistrate ordered the jailor to arrange his medical check up. He underwenttreatment at the jail hospital under a medical board. The Magistrate furtherordered that he may be taken to remand if he is physically fit.

On June 20, 2010, the jail authority gave the fitnesscertificate about Mr. Rahman for interrogating him at remand. Then, Mr.Mahmudur Rahman was again placed under a four-daydetention remand.

On June 24, 2010, the Magistrates Court ordered Mr.Rahman's transfer to the Dhaka central prison. Before the hearing, on June 23,2010, Mr. Rahman was kept blindfolded and handcuffed to the window bar of asmall room for ten hours, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

InJuly 2010, Mr. Rahman was transferred to the Gazipur district jail, which made itmore difficult for his lawyers to visit him, as well as for him to access themedical treatment he required.

Actions requested:

Pleasewrite to the Bangladeshi authorities urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical andpsychological integrity of Mr. Mahmudur Rahman and all staff members of Amar Desh as well as all human rights defenders in Bangladesh;

ii. Drop all charges against Mr. Mahmudur Rahman sincethe above mentioned accusations seem to only aim at sanctioning his humanrights activities;

iii. Order a prompt, effective, thorough, independent andimpartial investigation into the above-mentioned allegations of ill-treatments,the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all thoseresponsible, bring them before a competent, independent and impartial tribunaland apply to them the penal sanctions as provided by the law;

iv. Put an end to all acts of harassment - including atthe administrative and the judicial levels - against Mr. Rahman andall staff members of Amar Desh as well as all human rights defenders in Bangladesh;

v. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions ofthe Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by theUnited Nations General Assembly, in particular:

- its Article 1,which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association withothers, to promote the protection and realization of human rights andfundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”,

- its Article 6 b), which states that “everyonehas the right, individually and in association with others: as provided for inhuman rights and other applicable international instruments, freely to publish,impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all humanrights and fundamental freedoms”,

- its Article 9.1, which states that “in the exercise ofhuman rights and fundamental freedoms, including the promotion and protectionof human rights as referred to in the present Declaration, everyone has theright, individually and in association with others, to benefit from aneffective remedy and to be protected in the event of the violation of thoserights”,

- and its Article 12.2 which provides that “the Stateshall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competentauthorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, againstany violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination,pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or herlegitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

vi. Guarantee the respect ofhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the UniversalDeclaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instrumentsratified by Bangladesh.

Addresses:

· Ms.Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Gona Bhaban, OldSangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: +880 2 8113243, Email: info@pmo.gov.bd

· Ms.Sahara Khatun, Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, BangladeshSecretariat Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: mediacell@homemin-bd.org

· BarristerShafique Ahmed, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministryof Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka,Bangladesh, Email: info@minlaw.gov.bd

· Mr. Nur Mohammad, Inspector General of Police, PoliceHeadquarters, Phoenix Road, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh, Email : ig@police.gov.bd, nur0011@yahoo.com

· AmbassadorMr. Abdul Hannan, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh tothe United Nations in Geneva, 65 rue de Lausanne, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland,Fax: +41 22 738 46 16, E-mail: mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int

· Mr.Syed Maudud Ali, 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

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic representations of Bangladesh in your respectivecountries.

***

Paris-Geneva, March 21, 2011

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

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / 01 43 55 1880

· Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29

[1] See the Observatory Urgent AppealsBGD 001/0610/OBS 075 and BGD 001/0610/OBS075.