Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan still arbitrarily detained

BGD 001 / 0813 / OBS 074.3

Arbitrary detention /

Judicial harassment

Bangladesh

August16, 2013

The Observatory for the Protection of HumanRights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has receivednew information and requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Bangladesh.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliablesources about the ongoing arbitrary detention of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary of the humanrights non-governmental organisation Odhikar and a member of OMCT GeneralAssembly[1].

Accordingto the information received, on August 13, 2013,Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan was sent to Dhaka Central Jail by the ChiefMetropolitan Magistrates Court (CMM), in accordancewith the order issued by the High Court Division of the Supreme Court ofBangladesh on August 12 (see background information). Three hours later, he was transferred to Kashimpur Jail number 1, on theoutskirts of Dhaka city. Although his lawyers applied for "division"in the jail, the application was summarily rejected[2].The Observatory is concerned that this might be an indication that the judicialprocess against Mr. Khan might not be independent. Mr. Khan’s legal team nowplans to appeal to the Sessions Court against the refusal of the applicationfor “division”.

On August15, Mr. Khan's wife went to visit him. As Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan has not been granted division, he sharesa cell with four other inmates. They have basic mattresses, which are riddledwith bed bugs and share a toilet. Food is bought from the jail canteen withtheir own funds.

The Observatory reiteratesits deepest concern about Mr.Adilur Rahman Khan's arbitrary detention,which seems to merely aim at sanctioning his peaceful human rightsactivities, and calls upon the authorities inBangladesh to guarantee in all circumstances his physical and psychologicalintegrity as well as to release him immediately and unconditionally.

Furthermore, the Observatory is concerned by information itreceived according to which the Government would be planning to close downOdhikar, accusing it of being ananti-State organisation. It is to be further feared thatother members of Odhikar might be arrested in connection with the case filedagainst Mr. Khan, for interrogation, if it is required.

Accordingly, the Observatory urges the authorities ofBangladesh to put an end to the harassment against Odhikar, a prominent humanrights NGO that since its inception in 1994 has been showing its commitmentstowards a just and proper cause of human rights. Activities of Odhikar includereporting, advocacy and fact-finding activities on violations considered “sensitive”- such as disappearances, torture, political violence, etc. As a result ofthese activities, Odhikar is under constant watch by the Government[3].

Background information:

On August 10, 2013, at 10.20 pm, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan wasarrested by eight or nine men in plain clothes who said they were of the Detective Branch ofPolice (DB) as he was returning at his Gulshan residence in Dhaka with hisfamily. The men, who brought a white microbus apparently belonging to theUnited Commercial Bank and a blue and silver coloured mitsubishi pajero, askedMr. Adilur Rahman Khan to follow them. They didnot present any warrant of arrest and did not inform neither his family nor Mr.RahmanKhan why they were arresting him and where they were taking him.

On August 11, 2013, at 2:00 am, Odhikar defenders went tothe Gulshan police, where the police present denied having any case against Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan and claimed that theylearnt of his arrest from the media. Odhikar defenders also went to the DBoffice at
12:30 am on August 11, where the sentries denied them entry.

TheDhaka Metropolitan Police subsequently confirmed the arrest to the media,adding that Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan has been arrested under theInformation and Communication Technology Act. The arrest was allegedlymade on the basis of a general diary filed by the police with Gulshanpolice station, in relation to the fact-finding report issued by Odhikar aboutthe killing of 61 people during an operation carried out on May 5-6,2013 by law enforcement agencies against Hefazat-e Islam activists at the Dhaka’sdowntownMotijheel area.

AfterOdhikar released on June 10, 2013 its fact-finding report on the human rightsviolations perpetrated at the Hefazat rally in Motijheel on May 5-6, 2013, theInformation Ministry sent a letter to Odhikar on July 10, 2013 askingfor the names, family names and addresses of the 61 deceased people. In itsreply letter sent to the Information Ministry on July 17, 2013, and concernedfor the security of victims' families, Odhikar requested those concernedto form an independent impartial commission headed by a retired judge, whereOdhikar is willing to submit the names of the 61 victims killed.

OnAugust 11, 2013, at around 1.20 pm, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan was broughtbefore the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (CMM), where the complaint against him was read by the PublicProsecutor. The complaint, which was only handed over to his lawyers after Mr. AdilurRahman Khan was presented before the Court,was signed by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. The police lodged two GeneralDiaries against him on August 10, 2013, one (General Diary number 268, datedAugust 10) by the Detective Branch of Police (North) under Section 54 of theCode of Criminal Procedure and the other (General Diary number 514, datedAugust 10) by the Gulshan police station. Mr. AdilurRahman Khan was also charged under clauses 1and 2 of Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act 2006for publishing false images and information and disrupting the law and ordersituation of the country. The complaint also alleges that there would bereasonable suspicion that Mr. Khan is also directly and indirectly liable forother cognizable offences. The Public Prosecutor sought aten-day remand against Mr. Adilur Rahman Khanwhile his lawyers sought bail. The Magistrate, Judge Amit Kumar Dey, rejected the bail petition and placed Mr.Khan on a five-day remand for interrogation in connection withpublishing a “false report” on casualties during a crackdown on a rally by theIslamist organisation Hefazat-e Islam on May 5-6, 2013. Mr. Khan was then taken back to the Office of the Detective Branch (DB) ofDhaka Metropolitan Police at 36 Minto Road, in Dhaka.

Furthermore, on August 11, 2013, the Odhikaroffice was searched by DB police between 8.20 pm and 9.00 pm.They inspected the files and documents and then seized three laptops and twoCPUs from Odhikar's office.

On August 12, 2013, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh stayed the five-dayremand order to interrogate Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan and asked police to send himto jail. 
The High Court however allowed the Detective Branchto interrogate Mr. Khan at the Dhaka Central Jail gate premises, if necessary.
The court passed the order after hearing a writpetition filed by Mr. Khan, challenging the initiation of proceedings under Section 54 and the legality of the remand order granted by Judge Amit Kumar Dey of the CMM.

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh, urging them to:

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychologicalintegrity of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, of all Odhikar members as well asof all human rights defenders in Bangladesh;

ii. Release Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan immediately andunconditionally as his detention is arbitrary since it only aims atsanctioning his human rights activities;

iii.Put an end to any kind of harassment - including at the judicial level -against Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, all members of Odhikar as well as allhuman rights defenders in Bangladesh;

iv. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human RightsDefenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9,1998, especially:

- its Article 1, which statesthat “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, topromote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights andfundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as

- its Article 12.2, whichprovides that the State shall “take all necessary measures to ensure theprotection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and inassociation with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de factoor de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as aconsequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights”;

v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with international human rights standards andinternational instruments ratified by Bangladesh.

Addresses:

• Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Gona Bhaban, Old Sangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 8113243, Email: info@pmo.gov.bd
• Mr. Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: mkalamgir@yahoo.com; minister@mha.gov.bd;
• Barrister Shafique Ahmed, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: info@minlaw.gov.bd
• Mr. Hasanul Haq Inu, Honourable Minister, Ministry of Information, Building # 4 (8th floor), Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. E-mail: minister@moi.gov.bd
• Mr. Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Phoenix Road, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh, Email : ig@police.gov.bd
• H.E. Mr. Abdul Hannan, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations in 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 of Bangladesh in Brussels, 29-31 rue J. Jordaens, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 646 59 98; Email: bdootbrussels@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic missions orembassies of Bangladesh in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic missions or embassies in Bangladesh.

***

Geneva-Paris, August 16, 2013

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of thisappeal in your reply.

The Observatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to theprotection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support intheir time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22809 49 29

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

[1] Mr. AdilurRahman Khan has also been the Deputy AttorneyGeneral during the erstwhile four-party alliance government.

[2] If division had been granted, Mr. Khan would havebeen entitled to his own cell, a bed, and the privileges of using writingmaterial and having a separate light, a chair and table, as per Chapter 35 ofthe Jail Code.

[3] Seefor instance Observatory Urgent Appeal BGD 001 / 0311 / OBS 039, issued on March 22, 2011.