Abduction of Mr. Abu Bakar Siddique, the husband of Ms. Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyer’s Association (BELA)

Bangladesh

April 17, 2014

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federationfor Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Bangladesh.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatoryhas been informed with great concern about the abduction of Mr. Abu Bakar Siddique, the husband of Ms.Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyer’s Association(BELA).

According to theinformation received, on April 16, 2014, unidentified men abducted Mr. AbuBakar Siddique, a businessman, from Fatulla in Narayanganj, while he wastravelling to Dhaka from Narayanganj by car. The vehicle with the unidentifiedmen hit Mr. Abu Bakar Siddique's car near Bhuiyan Filling Station in Fatulla ataround 2:45pm. When Mr. Siddique and the driver of his car, Ripon, exited thecar to assess the damage, the unidentified men sprayed something into Ripon’seyes, blinding him, and took Mr. Siddique away.

The Observatory stronglycondemns Mr.Abu Bakar Siddique’s abduction, and fears that it merely aims atsanctioning the human rights activities of his wife, Ms. Syeda Rizwana Hasan.

In the past, Ms. Syeda RizwanaHasan and her relatives have been subjected to threats because of her humanrights activities against illegal encroachment, land grabbing, industrialpollution and other illegal acts affecting the environment. In 2012, shereceived the Ramon Magsaysay Award for her "uncompromising courage andimpassioned leadership in a campaign of judicial activism in Bangladesh thataffirms the people’s right to a good environment as nothing less than theirright to dignity and life".

The Observatory fears forMr. Abu Bakar Siddique’sphysical and psychological integrity, and calls upon the authorities ofBangladesh to take prompt action in order to disclose his whereabouts and to guarantee in all circumstances his physical andpsychological integrity.

More generally, the Observatory is greatly concerned by acts of reprisalsagainst relatives of human rights defenders in Bangladesh, as those acts seem to merely aim at silencing their human rights activities, and calls upon the authorities ofBangladesh to ensurein all circumstances that defenders are able to carry out their legitimateactivities without any hindrance or fear of reprisals.

Action requested:

Please write tothe authorities in Bangladesh, urging them to:

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychologicalintegrity of Mr. Abu Bakar Siddique, Ms. Syeda Rizwana Hasan and her relatives, as well as of all human rights defendersin Bangladesh;

ii.Take prompt action in order to disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Abu Bakar Siddique;

iii. Orderan immediate, thorough, effective and impartial investigation into theabove-mentioned facts, the result of which must be made public, in order toidentify all those responsible, bring them before a competent and impartialcivil tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;

iv. Put anend to any kind of harassment against all human rights defendersin Bangladesh and ensurein all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimateactivities without any hindrance or fear of reprisals;

v. Conform withthe provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:

- itsArticle 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and inassociation with others, to promote and to strive for the protection andrealisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national andinternational levels”, as well as

- itsArticle 12.2, which provides that the State shall “take all necessary measuresto ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individuallyand in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, defacto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary actionas a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights”;

vi. Ensure in allcircumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordancewith international human rights standards and international instrumentsratified by Bangladesh.

Addresses:

· Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister, Officeof the Prime Minister, Gona Bhaban, Old Sangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka,Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 8113243, Email: pm@pmo.gov.bd

· Professor Dr. Gowher Rizvi, Adviser tothe Prime Minister (International Affairs), Old Sangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka1215, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9111312
Email: advinternational@pmo.gov.bd

· Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, State Minister forHome Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat Building 8, 1stand 3rd florr, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9515541. Email: stateminister@mha.gov.bd

· Mr. Anisul Huq, Minister for Law, Justiceand Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs,Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 7168557. Email: minoflaw@law.com

· Md. Shahriar Alam, State Minister forForeign Affairs, Segun Bagicha, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9562188.Email: fm@mofa.gov.bd

· Mr. Mahbubey Alam, Attorney General forBangladesh, Attorney General's Office, Supreme Court Premises, Dhaka,Bangladesh, Email: adv_mahbubey@yahoo.com

· H.E. Mr. Abdul Hannan, Ambassador,Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nationsin 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 ofBangladesh in Brussels, 29-31 rue J. Jordaens, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +322 646 59 98; Email: bdootbrussels@skynet.be

Please also writeto the diplomatic missions or embassies of Bangladesh in your respectivecountry as well as tothe EU diplomatic missions or embassies in Bangladesh.

***

Geneva-Paris, April17, 2014

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

The Observatory,an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to the protection of human rightsdefenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact theObservatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 /+ 41 22 809 49 29

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 /+33 1 43 55 18 80