Bangladesh
06.09.04
Urgent Interventions
Bangladesh: Mr. Rafique al-Islam detained in an unknown location
Case BGD 300804.1
Disappearance / risk of torture / fear for life
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Bangladesh and requests your URGENT intervention.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source that Mr. Rafique al-Islam, who was arrested on 21 August 2004, by military officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), is now being detained in an unknown location.
According to the information received, a new hearing concerning the detention of Mr. Rafique al-Islam was held on Saturday 4 September 2004. The magistrate ruled that Mr. Rafique al-Islam was to remain in detention.
Following the hearing, Mr. Rafique al-Islam’s office was reportedly searched by police, and documents about the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) seized. The following morning his family and an ICBL observer who monitored the hearing were interrogated by the police. The belongings of the latter were allegedly searched without warrant.
On 5 September 2004, the day following the hearing, Mr. Rafique al-Islam was taken to an unknown location. According to the information received, still no charges seem to have been brought against him.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, Mr. Rafique al-Islam, responsible for the activities of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in Bangladesh and the representative of Nonviolence International in the country, was arrested at his home in Cox’s Bazar, at about 2:30 p.m. on 21 August 2004, by military officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite force created to combat serious crimes and terrorism in Bangladesh. During the arrest, the RAB members also seized equipment and documents from Mr. Rafique al-Islam’s office. They then took him to Cox’s Bazar prison. His family and his lawyer were uninformed of the charges brought against him, which made it difficult for the latter to plan a legal defence for his client. A hearing of the charges against him was due to take place on 26 August 2004, but was postponed to Sunday 29 August 2004.
In the afternoon of 29 August 2004, Mr. al-Islam was reportedly remanded into the custody of the RAB for the purpose of interrogation. This was of particular concern considering the fact that, according to information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (a member of the OMCT network), several individuals were arrested and tortured by RAB officials in the beginning of August 2004. The brutal torture of one of the victims allegedly led to his death.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:
i. immediately disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Rafique al-Islam and take all measures necessary to guarantee his physical and psychological integrity;
ii. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Rafique al-Islam’s family and of members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL);
iii. order the immediate release of Mr. Rafique al-Islam in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iv. order a thorough and impartial investigation into theses events, in order to bring those responsible to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Geneva, 6 September 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Disappearance / risk of torture / fear for life
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Bangladesh and requests your URGENT intervention.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source that Mr. Rafique al-Islam, who was arrested on 21 August 2004, by military officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), is now being detained in an unknown location.
According to the information received, a new hearing concerning the detention of Mr. Rafique al-Islam was held on Saturday 4 September 2004. The magistrate ruled that Mr. Rafique al-Islam was to remain in detention.
Following the hearing, Mr. Rafique al-Islam’s office was reportedly searched by police, and documents about the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) seized. The following morning his family and an ICBL observer who monitored the hearing were interrogated by the police. The belongings of the latter were allegedly searched without warrant.
On 5 September 2004, the day following the hearing, Mr. Rafique al-Islam was taken to an unknown location. According to the information received, still no charges seem to have been brought against him.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, Mr. Rafique al-Islam, responsible for the activities of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in Bangladesh and the representative of Nonviolence International in the country, was arrested at his home in Cox’s Bazar, at about 2:30 p.m. on 21 August 2004, by military officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite force created to combat serious crimes and terrorism in Bangladesh. During the arrest, the RAB members also seized equipment and documents from Mr. Rafique al-Islam’s office. They then took him to Cox’s Bazar prison. His family and his lawyer were uninformed of the charges brought against him, which made it difficult for the latter to plan a legal defence for his client. A hearing of the charges against him was due to take place on 26 August 2004, but was postponed to Sunday 29 August 2004.
In the afternoon of 29 August 2004, Mr. al-Islam was reportedly remanded into the custody of the RAB for the purpose of interrogation. This was of particular concern considering the fact that, according to information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (a member of the OMCT network), several individuals were arrested and tortured by RAB officials in the beginning of August 2004. The brutal torture of one of the victims allegedly led to his death.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:
i. immediately disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Rafique al-Islam and take all measures necessary to guarantee his physical and psychological integrity;
ii. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Rafique al-Islam’s family and of members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL);
iii. order the immediate release of Mr. Rafique al-Islam in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iv. order a thorough and impartial investigation into theses events, in order to bring those responsible to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. 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 or email the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN: Fax: +4122 738 46 16, Email: mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int, mission.bangladesh@bluewin.ch
- Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed, President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Bangabhaban, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: +88 2 9566242
- Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: +88 02 8619667/ +88 02 955 2323
- Ambassadeur, Ali, Toufiq, Rue de Lausanne 65, CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, e-mail : mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int, mission.bangladesh@bluewin.ch fax: +4122 738 46 16
- Please also write to the embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.
Geneva, 6 September 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.