Arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of 13 student leaders

Arbitrary arrest /

Incommunicado detention /

Torture

Bangladesh

September 14, 2018

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a joint partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation AgainstTorture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation inBangladesh.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of 13 leaders of the student’s movement that organised protests in Dhaka from July 29 to August 8, 2018to demand safer roads and stricter enforcement of traffic laws. The protests followed the death of two high school students in Kurmitola, who were struck by a bus operated by an unlicensed driver[1].

According to the information received, on September 5,2018, law enforcement officers raided the 13 leaders’ houses in Dhaka’sMohakhali and Tejgaon neighbourhoods of Messrs. Tarek Aziz, Mehedi Hasan Rajib,Mahfuz, Raihanul Abedin, Tarek Aziz, and Iftekhar Alam, students at the DhakaPolytechnic Institute; Al Amin and Jahirul Islam Hasib, two university admissionseekers; Mujahidul Islam, student at the Bangladesh Textile University inDhaka; Jahangir Alam, student at the Government Titumir College in Dhaka;Saifullah Bin Mansur, student at the Government Sadat College, TangailDistrict; and Gazi Borhan Uddin, student at Saic Institute of MedicalTechnology in Mirpur Sub-District; as well as Mr. Sifat.

The 13 students were arrested following the raid. Thewhereabouts of 12 of them remained unknown for four days, while Mr. Sifat wasreleased from the Office of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Policeon September 6, 2018. Mr. Sifat alleged he and the other students were torturedwhile in the custody of the Detective Branch - a claim that has been denied bythe police. The Detective Branch provided contradictory information to thefamilies, first acknowledging the arrest of the students and saying they wouldbe presented to the court on September 7, 2018, before later denying they hadbeen arrested.

On September 10, 2018, the 12 students appeared before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka and were charged with “assaulting policemen” on August 6, 2018. They faced two days of remand. Moreover, Mr. Tarek Aziz was remanded for two additional days in connection with another case filed for allegedly “spreading rumours” under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act during the August 2018 student demonstrations for road safety. On the same day, police claimed all 12 students had been arrested in Dhaka’s Tejkunipara area on September 9, 2018 - contradicting eyewitness testimony that they had been taken away on September 5, 2018 - and that they were leaders of Islami Chhatra Sibir[2]. All of them were sent to jail after police remand.

The Observatory strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest andincommunicado detention of the 13 students for the exercise of their right tofreedom of peaceful assembly, as well as the alleged acts of torture againstthem. The Observatory urges the Bangladeshi authorities to immediately releasethe 12 students who remain detained and guarantee in all circumstances theirphysical and psychological integrity.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Bangladesh asking themto:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical andpsychological integrity of Messrs. Tarek Aziz, Mehedi Hasan Rajib, Mahfuz,Raihanul Abedin, Tarek Aziz, Iftekhar Alam, Al Amin, Jahirul Islam Hasib,Mujahidul Islam, Jahangir Alam, Saifullah Bin Mansur, Sifat and Gazi BorhanUddin;

ii. Ensure the immediate and unconditional release ofMessrs. Tarek Aziz, Mehedi Hasan Rajib, Mahfuz, Raihanul Abedin, Tarek Aziz,Iftekhar Alam, Al Amin, Jahirul Islam Hasib, Mujahidul Islam, Jahangir Alam,Saifullah Bin Mansur and Gazi Borhan Uddin;

iii.Carry out an immediate, thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation intothe above-mentioned events and allegations of torture in order to identify allthose responsible and hold them accountable;

iv. Putan end to all forms of harassment - including at the judicial level -against all the above-mentioned students, as well as all human rightsdefenders in Bangladesh, and ensure in all circumstances that they are able tocarry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear ofreprisals;

v.Comply with all their international obligations to respect the exercise of thecitizens’ right to peaceful assembly;

vi. Conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration onHuman Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nationson December 9, 1998, in particular with Articles 1, 6(a) and 12.2;

vii. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rightsand fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rightsstandards and international instruments to which Bangladesh is a State party.

Addresses:

• Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Fax:+880 2 8113243, Email: pm@pmo.gov.bd

• Professor Dr. Gowher Rizvi, Adviser to the PrimeMinister (International Affairs), Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9111312 Email: advinternational@pmo.gov.bd

• Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, State Minister for HomeAffairs of Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9515541. Email: stateminister@mha.gov.bd

• Mr. Anisul Huq, Minister for Law, Justice andParliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 7168557. Email: minoflaw@law.com

• Md. Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairsof Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9562188. Email: fm@mofa.gov.bd

• Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, Chief Justice, SupremeCourt of Bangladesh, Fax: +880 2 956 5058 /+880 2 7161344, E-mail:chief@bdcom.com or mailto:supremec@bdcom.com

• Mr. Mahbubey Alam, Attorney General for Bangladesh,Email: adv_mahbubey@yahoo.com

• H.E. Mr. Abdul Hannan, Ambassador, PermanentMission of the People’sRepublic of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva,Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 738 46 16, E-mail:mailto:mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int

• Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh inBrussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 646 59 98; Email: bdootbrussels@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representations ofBangladesh in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, September 14, 2018

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

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is toprevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDHand OMCT are both members of https://www.protectdefenders.eu/en/index.html, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

[1] On August 6, 2018, police used tear gas against demonstrators in Dhaka and arrested several protesters. The photographer and human rights defender Mr. Shahidul Alam was also arbitrarily arrested and tortured for his comments on the student protests in international media.See Observatory Urgent Appeal BGD 002 / 0818 / OBS 102, August 6, 2018.[2] The student wing of Bangladesh Jaamat-el-Islami, an Islamist political party considered as “extremist” by the Government.