Bangladesh
20.02.04
Urgent Interventions
Bangladesh: gang rape of two minority Hindu women and looting of property
Case BGD 200204.VAW
Rape/Violence against women/Looting of Property
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source of the gang rape of 2 minority women, Ms. Nilu Rani Das and Ms. Popy Rani Das, as well as the looting of their property in Bangladesh.
According to the information received, on January 26, 2004, at least nine men entered the home of Ms. Nilu Rani Das, where they raped her and her neice, Ms. Popy Rani Das, both members of the minority Hindu group. The nine men identified as having been involved in this crime are: Alaluddin, Jalauddin, Azam Ali, Ahmed Ali, Shamsuddin, Abu Bakar, Bacchu Meah, Zillu Meah, and Bakkar Meah, as well as other unidentified men. The perpetrators allegedly broke down the door to the house and entered with sharp weapons. They took the two women outside and raped them multiple times. Ms. Nilu Rani Das lost consciousness during the rape. The men then looted her property, amounting to 8,000 Taka. As they were leaving, they threatened the victims and the family with weapons, warning that if the crime was reported to the police, Ms. Nilu Rani Das's two sons, Subir Das and Shuva Das, would be abducted and killed.
Ms. Nilu Rani Das is the widow of Mr. Sunil Kumar Das, who died a year ago, leaving her a small amount of land. It is reported that neighboring people from the majority Muslim group wanted the land that was owned by Ms. Nilu Rani Das.
According to the information received, Ms. Nilu Rani Das filed a First Information Report (FIR) on January 27, 2004, but there was a delay by the police in taking any action against the perpetrators. On February 9, 2004, the complaint was amended by the victim, but there are allegations of pressure and coercion against the victim, leading to the incorporation of false information in the later report. None of the perpetrators have been arrested yet and Ms. Nilu Rani Das's property has not been recovered.
In previous appeals, OMCT has expressed concern about violence targeted against the minority Hindu population in Bangladesh, and particularly the rape of Hindu women in the course of politically motivated attacks (Case BGD 180303 and BGD 280703.VAW). In those appeals, OMCT noted that religious minorities have continually been targeted in Bangladesh with the direct and indirect support of the authorities. OMCT further expressed concern that several hundreds of minority persons have been killed, thousands of minority women have been raped, and thousands have been forced to flee Bangladesh since October 2001, when the current government came to power.
OMCT is particularly concerned that, placed in the context of systematic violence against the Hindu minority in Bangaldesh and lack of action by the authorities to protect minority groups, there is a risk that the police will not exercise due diligence in investgating, prosecuting and punishing this crime. OMCT recalls that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in article 4(c), states that States should “exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons.”
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Nilu Rani Das and Ms. Popy Rani Das, and their family;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims of these abuses and that compensation is provided for the looted property;
iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, Office of the Prime Minister, Gona Bhaban, Sher-e Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: + 880 2 811 3244/ 3243/ 1015 / 1490, Email: pm@pmobd.org or psecretary@pmobd.org
· Mr Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax:+ 880 2 861 9667
· Ambassadeur, Ali, Toufiq ,Rue de Lausanne 65, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, fax: +4122 738 46 16, e-mail: mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.
Geneva, February 20, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Rape/Violence against women/Looting of Property
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source of the gang rape of 2 minority women, Ms. Nilu Rani Das and Ms. Popy Rani Das, as well as the looting of their property in Bangladesh.
According to the information received, on January 26, 2004, at least nine men entered the home of Ms. Nilu Rani Das, where they raped her and her neice, Ms. Popy Rani Das, both members of the minority Hindu group. The nine men identified as having been involved in this crime are: Alaluddin, Jalauddin, Azam Ali, Ahmed Ali, Shamsuddin, Abu Bakar, Bacchu Meah, Zillu Meah, and Bakkar Meah, as well as other unidentified men. The perpetrators allegedly broke down the door to the house and entered with sharp weapons. They took the two women outside and raped them multiple times. Ms. Nilu Rani Das lost consciousness during the rape. The men then looted her property, amounting to 8,000 Taka. As they were leaving, they threatened the victims and the family with weapons, warning that if the crime was reported to the police, Ms. Nilu Rani Das's two sons, Subir Das and Shuva Das, would be abducted and killed.
Ms. Nilu Rani Das is the widow of Mr. Sunil Kumar Das, who died a year ago, leaving her a small amount of land. It is reported that neighboring people from the majority Muslim group wanted the land that was owned by Ms. Nilu Rani Das.
According to the information received, Ms. Nilu Rani Das filed a First Information Report (FIR) on January 27, 2004, but there was a delay by the police in taking any action against the perpetrators. On February 9, 2004, the complaint was amended by the victim, but there are allegations of pressure and coercion against the victim, leading to the incorporation of false information in the later report. None of the perpetrators have been arrested yet and Ms. Nilu Rani Das's property has not been recovered.
In previous appeals, OMCT has expressed concern about violence targeted against the minority Hindu population in Bangladesh, and particularly the rape of Hindu women in the course of politically motivated attacks (Case BGD 180303 and BGD 280703.VAW). In those appeals, OMCT noted that religious minorities have continually been targeted in Bangladesh with the direct and indirect support of the authorities. OMCT further expressed concern that several hundreds of minority persons have been killed, thousands of minority women have been raped, and thousands have been forced to flee Bangladesh since October 2001, when the current government came to power.
OMCT is particularly concerned that, placed in the context of systematic violence against the Hindu minority in Bangaldesh and lack of action by the authorities to protect minority groups, there is a risk that the police will not exercise due diligence in investgating, prosecuting and punishing this crime. OMCT recalls that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in article 4(c), states that States should “exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons.”
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Nilu Rani Das and Ms. Popy Rani Das, and their family;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims of these abuses and that compensation is provided for the looted property;
iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, Office of the Prime Minister, Gona Bhaban, Sher-e Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: + 880 2 811 3244/ 3243/ 1015 / 1490, Email: pm@pmobd.org or psecretary@pmobd.org
· Mr Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax:+ 880 2 861 9667
· Ambassadeur, Ali, Toufiq ,Rue de Lausanne 65, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, fax: +4122 738 46 16, e-mail: mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.
Geneva, February 20, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.