PRESS RELEASE: Government security forces stand idle as indigenous communities attacked in Bangladesh

Houses burnt to ashes in arson attack on Jumma minority communities in Rangamati and Khagrachari, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

Over one hundred houses and one school were burnt to ashes in two different attacks against indigenous minority communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh in February and April leaving hundreds of indigenous men women and children injured and homeless. The attacks were instigated by some 200-300 Muslim Bengali settlers, following the death of a Bengali settler, Saber Ali, which the settlers blamed the indigenous people for. There is suspicion that Saber Ali was killed by the Bengali settlers to provide an excuse to evict the indigenous peoples from the area.

Government security forces were present but did nothing to stop the attacks; rather they stood by passively and watched. Instead of promoting transparent investigations and reporting, the government proclaimed an ‘emergency curfew’ prohibiting any access to the area following the attacks. In May 2011, Global Human Rights Defence’s (GHRD) local partner in Bangladesh, the only human rights organization to do so, led an undercover mission to the area investigating the attacks and took witness statements from many of the victims. While the government has provided some compensation to the victims in the form of money (5000 Bangladesh taka per family – the equivalent of 46 euros) and foodstuffs, this is insufficient and many of those who lost their homes continue to live in tents or temporary shelter. The authorities have also failed to fully investigate the attacks or bring those responsible to justice, despite identification of the main perpetrators of the violence. At the time of writing of this press release no-one had yet been arrested.

During our team’s investigations, the local authorities expressed strong suspicion towards any international involvement in the region. Our observers were approached and questioned on multiple occasions by members of the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) and by the district special branch of police who requested information on the identity of the team, the organisation they worked for and purpose for their visit.

Land grabbing and disputes over land continue to be the main reason for attacks by Bengali settlers against the Jumma in the CHT region. Implementation of the 1997 Peace Accord was a major election promise of the ruling government, the Awami League. It is paramount that the government be held accountable for these promises and take action to bring peace to the region implement the Accord, and protect the homes and security of the indigenous peoples in the region. GHRD collected police reports, photos and video statements from the location and is available to provide additional information upon request. Video statement of the victim:2,3 If you would like more information please contact: Jenny Lundström Human Rights Officer Global Human Rights Defence Laan van Meerdervoort 70 2517 AN The Hague, The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)70 3450692 Email: jlundstrom@ghrd.org

Bangladesh: Arson attack on Jumma minority community in Khagrachari, Chittagong Hill Tracts [UA-BA-20-04-2011]

Bangladesh: Arson attack on Jumma minority community in Rangamati, Chittagong Hill Tracts [UA-BA-22-02-2011]

2010 JusticeMaker Shahanur Islam publishes flyer

 

In preparation for a community information session that he will conduct in the near future, JM 2010 Shahanur Islam recently republished a brochure about human rights standards in Bangladesh. As the head of the Bangladesh Institute for Human Rights (BIHR), Shahanur first designed the brochure several months ago, in preparation for a door-to-door campaign to highlight the problem of torture in prisons. The pamphlet empowers ordinary Bangladeshis by informing them—in language easily understood by a layperson—of their rights once they are behind bars. As part of the community information session, Shahanur intends to distribute the brochure to residents of Dhaka who have fallen victim to police abuse.

Shahanur says that his intention in creating and publishing the pamphlet was to remove a “veil of silence” that keeps torture victims from asserting their rights as human beings and citizens of their own country. Understanding that citizen activism is often muffled by illiteracy and a lack of education, the brochure contains short, impactful phrases that ordinary citizens can learn ad share with their neighbours and friends, to help amplify their voices.

Written entirely in Bangla, the brochure includes information on constitutional, legal and religious prohibitions against torture. It also addresses the kinds of acts which constitute torture, and statistics about the frequency with which it occurs in Bangladesh.

Flyer contains

Aim:

• to convey the message of human rights and law at each and every house of the community;
• to cultivate a culture of human rights which will make people dutiful and tolerant to each other through practice.

How will the Information Session Proceed?

• Join the view exchange meeting first
• Read and follow the human rights curriculum
• Participate in the rallies protesting torture

Where is torture prohibited?

• Article 35(5) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
• Article 5 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
• Article 7 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• Obligation of Compensation is mentioned in Civil Procedure
• Criminal Procedure Code
• UN Convention Against Torture
• In the religious and holy books

Let us make people aware of the prohibitions on torture mentioned in the constitution, law and religion.

How do we suffer as a result of torture?

• A person is punished physically
• A person loses mental inspiration to work
• Economic life of a person becomes damaged
• A person loses his life
• Torture creates panic and fear in society
• A person’s personality is affected
• A person becomes burden upon his family
• Torture is threat to democracy
• Torture is threat to development

Torture is a Social Disease:

Incidences of torture in Bangladesh have increased alarmingly over the past years. Death, rape, sexual harassment, and blackmail are endemic problems. Though it is the duty of the police to protect citizens against violence, they themselves have allegedly killed many people and destroyed many lives in custody.

Self Realization:

It is essential for awareness of torture and its consequences are more widespread in order for Bangladeshi society to become “torture free”.

Appeal:

Come on! To uproot these diseases from our society lets us empower the women and increase the capabilities of people and create opportunities for every one to make the administrators accountable to us, in order to build up a torture free society.

Let us speak out against torture before we become its victims. Let us generate a movement!

The lesson/slogan:

Who are we: Owners of the state

The Constitution declares that: We are the owners of the state

Public officers are: The servants of the people

Accountable administration: The requirement of the time

Democracy requires: Accountable administration

Neither will I torture: Nor I will be tortured

My home is: Torture free

Torture in police remand is: A violation of Human rights

Torture in police custody is: A violation of the constitution

Rule of laws: Determines the jurisdiction of police

To provide public service: Is the duty of the police

Torture of children and women is: A violation of human rights

For the development and children and women: Human rights are essential

To establish human rights: We should be conscious

To establish human rights: Passion is essential

To gear up our mental strength: Let us learn human rights

Build a group based on human rights: Mental strength will be enhance

Get organised: Get more wealth

Live with human rights: Build new society

Practice human rights: Preserve the resources of the state

To drive human rights: We should be conscious

Learn human rights: To build new society

Core of human rights is: Development of the people

Main theme of the development: Capability of the people

If you do your duty: I will get my rights

Preserve one’s rights, first: Enjoy your own rights then

The people of Bangladesh: Resist torture

Torture free Bangladesh: Promise to build one

Aim should be politics: Main theme is human rights

The lights of human rights: Lit in every house.

to read the original report visit here 

Shahanur Records Another Success in his Bid to Free Bangladesh from Torture

 In his continuing bid to end torture in Bangladesh, JusticeMaker Shahanur Islam Saikot, has offered legal aid to ethnic and racial minorities in and around Dhaka. His latest case is the story of Shila Mollick, a housewife tortured by the police for reporting a crime.

On January 04, 2011 Justices A H M Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Sheikh Zakir Hossain issued summons for Madaripur district police superintendent, Sarder Tamijuddin Ahmed, and officer-in-charge (OC), M Moshiur Rahman, who stand accused of torturing Shila.

Shila’s husband had previously been severely assaulted and she felt the police had not sufficiently investigated the case. On October 05 2010, Shila wanted to lodge a complaint highlighting the negligent behaviour of the officers. According to her account, the police superintendant, Mr. Sarder, was unhappy by her statement and tried to force her to withdraw the case. When she refused, he violently assaulted Shila causing significant injuries to her arm, neck and back. Fearing further recriminations, Shila dared not approach the local hospital, and instead had to wait two days before visiting Dhaka Medical College Hospital, on October 07.

Shila took her case to Shahanur, who documented the claim and alerted the authorities to Shila’s plight. Since these issues have come to light, the courts have issued an order asking the home secretary, law secretary, police inspector general and deputy inspector general to investigate her complaints. The superintendant and officer in charge are now required to ensure Shila’s safety while the case progresses. The law secretary has been asked to form an investigative committee.

All of this is due to the work of Shahanur, who, through the JusticeMaker grant, is able to support the powerless in their struggle for justice. To ensure that this does not happen again, Shahanur will also file another case with the chief magistrate court pressing criminal charges against the perpetrators within the next week.

to read original report visit here

JusticeMakers Inspire Each Other via Skype

 Following the success of the inaugural JusticeMaker conference call with partners from South Asia and the Caucasus, Thomas Halusa (Singapore) and Wouter Krujis (Geneva) organized a second call in order to give another group of JusticeMakers the opportunity to be inspired by the progress of their colleagues’ projects. The conference call took place on 26 November 2010, with participation from Oanh Hoang Ngo (Vietnam), Jae de la Cruz (Philippines), Ajeng Larasati (Indonesia) and Shahanur Islam (Bangladesh). Their brainstorming session highlighted their innovative practices and unique approaches, and how these could be adapted for use in different countries.

The primary topic of conversation was the best way to interact with governments. Each JusticeMaker had different experiences of this, based on the significant variances in their project targets and processes. Shahanur, whose project focuses on raising awareness about torture and highlighting Bangladesh’s commitments to international treaties, takes a high-profile approach. His latest success, having four police officers arrested for the torture of a human rights activist, emphasizes the very proactive nature of his project. He uses the media to publicize instances of torture. He has had successes in fostering partnerships with the police, and periodically exchanges information with the local superintendent about the legal aid situation in Dhaka. By finding amiable partners in the police force, Shahanur is adhering to the IBJ method of “change from within.” By using a collaborative approach, he is likely to garner more partners in long term, thus helping to ensure that torture is eradicated from Bangladesh.

Oanh’s project focuses on analyzing the legal rights of juvenile and indigent detainees in and around Hanoi. She also intends to provide training for lawyers on this issue, and her work requires a lot of government interaction. Oanh’s application highlighted the fact that well-trained lawyers are needed to ensure that a sound juvenile legal aid network in Vietnam can be established. In order to achieve this, she has collaborated with the Bar Association, Ministry of Justice, and universities. The first training she held was attended by various dignitaries, including the Vice Chief Judge of Bacnih Province, the Head of the Appeal and Procuracy Department for the Hanoi prosecutor, the Vice-President of the Vietnam Bar Association, the Vice-Chief of the Vietnam Legal Aid Bureau, and two international lawyers from Warsaw, Poland. More than 200 lawyers-in-training were also present. By collaborating with the government to run these sessions, Oanh is able to foster long-term relationships and governmental support for other such initiatives. Oanh’s work to establish a strong support network can help ensure that her changes in Vietnamese juvenile justice will ultimately by systemic and long-lasting.

Government plays a central role in Ajeng’s project implementation as well. Ajeng focuses on ensuring that pre-trial detainees around Jakarta are educated about the legal system and their rights. She has to enter prisons and work hand-in-hand with detainees to complete her training sessions and achieve her goals. Although prison officials have welcomed her plans and have even invited her to enter the jails several months ahead of her planned visits, Ajeng has run into some bureaucratic challenges. In Indonesia, a person wishing to enter a jail needs permission from the Director General of Prisons. Bureaucratic delays in receiving this permission have slowed down her project implementation.

For Jae, whose project is to create a network of paralegals to support farmers’ rights in the rural Philippines, the problem at hand isn’t bureaucracy, but democracy. The recent elections in the Philippines have resulted in a change in government, and consequently most of the provincial officials have been replaced. Because many agreements that Jae had reached with these officials had been conducted verbally, with few paper records of decisions made, some of Jae’s immediate plans have to be re-assessed. Her plans to organize a round-table discussion between police, military, the Supreme Court and the Justice Department have to be re-started. Jae intends to avoid this issue in future by keeping concrete records of all the steps she’s taken.  Despite this setback, Jae’s is hopeful about the future success of her project due to recent positive signs about the Filipino justice system. In a recent landmark decision, the Supreme Court temporarily suspended a judge that was deemed corrupt. This is the first in hopefully many steps towards the establishment of a more efficient legal system.

Dealing with bureaucracy is presents a challenge for all JusticeMakers. However, both Ajeng and Jae have found innovative ways to deal with it. Ajeng’s work is often adversely affected by corruption, which is pervasive in Indonesia, but she has developed an ingenious way of coping with these difficulties. When officials ask for bribes, Ajeng asks for an automated invoice to satisfy her NGO’s funders. This approach solves the problem in a non-confrontational way, and puts out the message that Ajeng won’t be affected by corrupt officials.

Jae manages to efficiently navigate the Philippines’ dense bureaucracy by befriending court officials. This allows her to receive information quickly, as employees of the courts are more willing to help her on the basis of their personal friendship. Jae has also procured a demand letter, which, when shown to officials, forces bureaucrats to provide the necessary material. Because this is a more acrimonious approach, and tends to take longer, Jae uses it only as a last resort.

In addition to discussions about governmental relations, IBJ wanted to hear from the JusticeMakers how they used media or P.R. to publicize their projects.  The JusticeMakers who participated in the second conference call all had very different experiences with the media. Jae, for example, tends not to interact with media to spread her project’s message: farmers in the rural Philippines do not often use radio, newspapers or the internet; thus using a media source would not particularly add to her project’s reach. On the other hand, Shahanur utilizes media sources heavily to emphasize his project and its impact. By managing to stay in within the public’s sphere of interest, the effectiveness of his project has improved.

By interacting with each through the call, all the JusticeMakers were able to find hope in the passion and commitment of their peers. Ideas, such as Ajeng’s, of asking for receipts when people are soliciting a bribe, are adaptable and effective. Interactions such as these help lay the foundation for the fellowship IBJ hopes to inspire throughout the JusticeMaker community.

To read original report please visit here

Training on Torture and Human Rights in Bangladesh

 On September 23, Shahanur Islam Saikot, JusticeMaker fellow 2010, conducted his training session on torture and human rights in a bid to strengthen prisoners’ rights throughout Bangladesh. The training was a collaborative event inaugurated by Fiorez Ahmed, the public prosecutor for Khulna Court and Sunil Chandra Das, the vice-president of Human Rights Development Project (HRDP). Aloka Nanda Das, a special public prosecutor, Saheb Ali, secretary of the Khulna press club and journalists from eight Bengali newspapers were also present.

Attendees were from the south of the country comprised of young professionals from a variety of sectors. Participants included 15 lawyers, four police and prison officials, five journalists, three judicial officials and three human right activists. Two of the attendees were selected as trainers for future events. The goal of the training was to instruct the participants on how to raise awareness about Bangladesh’s commitments to human right and reducing torture.

The training consisted of highlighting various aspects of international human right treaties. Shahanur explained the concept, definition and origin of human rights, including details of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), whilst comparing it to the constitution of Bangladesh.

In addition to the UDHR Shahanur addressed the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). Bangladesh is a signatory of CAT however has chosen to opt out of Article 14 which states the following:

“Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependants shall be entitled to compensation.”

Bangladesh’s reservation was registered as follows:

“The government of Bangladesh will apply Article 14 in consonance of the existing laws and legislation in the country.”

This reservation could potentially be problematic if national laws in Bangladesh regarding torture do not meet international standards.

An additional element which could raise concerns surrounding the eradication of torture is the fact that Bangladesh has not signed OPCAT. Shahanur emphasised to his audience the need to do so as the objective of OPCAT is this:

“The objective of the present Protocol is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

With his JusticeMakers project underway Shahanur continues to raise awareness surrounding basic legal right within Bangladesh.

To read the original  news visit here