Possible extrajudicial killings

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (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 ODHIKAR, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the killings under unclear circumstances of 24-year-old Mr. Sayed Ali, resident of Baniyapara village, and 38-year-old Mr. Tofazzal Hossain Montu (ex member of a Union Parishad – the lowest level of the local government in Bangladesh and popularly known as Montu member), resident of Nandiya under Sadar upazila, Kushtia district, on 11 September 2008 at around 5:30am by officers of the Rapid Action battalion (RAB) 12, Islamic University Police Station and the Detective Branch of the police (DB police), near the bridge over the canal called Madiar Khal at Sadar Upazila, Kushtia.

According to the information received, Ms. Nargis Parvin, Mr. Tofazzal Hossain’s wife, received a phone call on 11 September 2008 at around 2:30am from an unknown number. A man voice reportedly told her that her husband had been picked up by officers of the DB police in a micro-bus and then hung up. At around 3:30am, Ms. Nargis Parvin reportedly looked outside her window, and saw a large number of police officers surrounding her house, digging at different places with spades and shovels. She was however reportedly not allowed to step outside her house. At around 5:30am, Ms. Nargis Parvin then heard ten to twelve gunshots coming from the south-eastern side of her house. At around 6:00am an acquaintance of Jhaodia Village reportedly told her over the phone that Mr. Tofazzal Hossain had been killed in a “crossfire”. The police left her house’s premises at around 9:00am, reportedly without having found anything and officers of the Islamic University Police Station later reportedly confirmed to the family the death of Mr. Tofazzal Hossain.

According to ODHIKAR fact-finding mission, witnesses to the scene reported to have seen, on 11 September 2008 at around 5:00am, a police pick-up and three white micro-buses stopping on the bridge over Madiar Khal. Four to five men in plain clothes reportedly came out of the micro-bus, which was parked in-between the other vehicles, with two persons who were blindfolded and whose hands were tied. These two individuals were then allegedly pushed into the field beside the Madiar Khal toward the bank of the canal. Following this, seven to eight police officers and five to six RAB officers got off their vehicles and reached the said place. The remaining RAB and police officers reportedly divided into two groups and went to the two ends of the bridge stopping commuter from crossing the bridge. At about 5:30am, the witnesses reported to have heard ten gunshots being fired from the place where the two men were taken to. The police then reportedly shouted “Escaping! Escaping! Catch! Catch!” At around 6:00am, RAB and police officers reopened the bridge and showed the villagers, who gathered around the scene, two dead bodies, reportedly telling them that they were shot and killed in an encounter with the police and RAB officers. One of the witnesses could identify Mr. Tofazzal Hossain. The police reportedly said that the other individual was Mr. Sayed Ali from the Alampur Union. At around 8:30am, another police car arrived and retrieved the two dead bodies.

According to the Officer-in Charge (OC) at the Islamic University Police Station, Kushtia, the police received information that Mr. Tofazzal Hossain was allegedly holding a secret meeting near a bridge two kilometers west of Jhaodia Bazaar, following which the police gathered a team. According to the police, both individuals were killed in a “crossfire” after the law-enforcement agents replied to their initial gun shots.

According to the doctor, who conducted the post-mortem, Mr. Tofazzal Hossain bore two bullet injuries on the left side of his chest and one on his right rib. Another bullet passed through his chin to the back of his head. Two fingers of his right hand were reportedly dismembered while another finger was hanging in a half-cut state. As to Mr. Sayed Ali, he reportedly bore three bullet wounds, two on the right side of his chest and one below the left shoulder.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the death of Mr. Sayed Ali and Mr. Tofazzal Hossain Montu, death which exact circumstances remain unclear. OMCT recalls to Bangladesh that according to article 6 1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which it is a State party, “Every human being has the inherent right to life.…. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” OMCT calls upon the authorities to launch a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law for impunity should not prevail. Finally, OMCT urges the authorities to guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international humanitarian law and human rights standards.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:

1. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the death of Mr. Sayed Ali and Mr. Tofazzal Hossain Montu, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the civil penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
2. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to the victims’ families;
3. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

• Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Supreme Court Building Ranna, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh, Fax +880 2 9565058
• Mr. A. F. Hassan Ariff, Law Advisor, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: +880 2 7168557
• Mr. Kazi Habibul Awal, Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: info@minlaw.gov.bd, Fax: +880 2 7171536
• Major General (retd.) M. A. Matin, Home Advisor, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Building 4, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Email: mediacell@homemin-bd.org
• Mr. Abdul Karim, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax no. of IGP - +880 2 9563362, 9563363
• Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Supreme Court Building, Ranna, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh, Fax +880 2 9565058
• Mr. Nur Mohammad, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bangladesh Police, Police Headquarters' Fulbaria, Dhaka-1000 Bangladesh.
• Md. Alamgir Rahman, Superintendent of Police (SP), Office of the Superintendent of Police, Sirajganj, Bangladesh, Faz: +880 751 62415
• 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@freegates.be

Please also write to the embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.

Geneva, 23 October 2008

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