The following is the Executive Summary of Odhikar's January-June 2017 report:
This report is produced after analyzing
the human rights situation of Bangladesh from January to June 2017. Some other
relevant issues were also incorporated in the synopsis of this report, as the
Awami League government has been in power since 2009. After the controversial
and farcical Parliamentary elections[1] on January 5, 2014, all the
government institutions, including national and autonomous institutions have been
politicized by the government. The government was involved in widespread and
varied human rights violations through suppressing the opposition political
parties, particularly BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami and dissenting voices, including
human rights organisations. Repression of the incumbent government was observed
during the first six months of 2017. Since the 2014 elections, all local
government polls have been marred by widespread and widely reported
irregularities, violence and vote rigging, which also continued in local
government polls held during this reporting period.
The leaders and activists of the ruling
party and police and members of other state security forces have become
desperate to hold on to power through farcical and controversial elections,
using the administration for their politically vested interest, without being
accountable to the people. Criminal activities, perpetrated by leaders and
activists of the Awami League affiliated student and youth wings, across the
country continued in these six months. Of the incidents of criminal activities
that took place during this period, most of them involved ruling party
leaders-activists. They attacked leaders and activists of the opposition
parties and ordinary citizens. Furthermore, they were also engaged in internal
conflicts among themselves for their vested interest.
Hindrances to freedom of expression and
repression on the ordinary people and leaders and activists of the opposition
political parties continued during this reporting period. The incumbent
government is allegedly involved in various activities that abuse human rights,
including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and
arbitrary arrests of leaders and activists of the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance.
Apart from enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and
attacks, the government is also harassing opposition party leaders and
activists in various ways to create pressure on them, including implicating
them in criminal cases or lodging false cases against them. It is alleged that
the government is using the law enforcement agencies in these activities. As
per orders given by the ‘higher authority’ of the government, the Special
Branch (SB) of Police sent official letters to the relevant police stations for
gathering personal information of the leaders of the opposition political
party, BNP. Thirty-two kinds of specific
information have been asked for in a three-page form.[2] On May 20, as per
instruction from ‘high-up in the government’, police raided the political party
office of the BNP Chairperson at Gulshan, Dhaka without any prior notice.
Police said in this regard that an operation was conducted at the BNP
Chairperson’s party office to see whether there was any anti-state activities
being carried out or any such documents preserved therein. Nothing was found.[3]
Although leaders-activists of the
ruling party had freely organised meetings and assemblies, ruling party
activists and members of law enforcement agencies barred and attacked meetings
and assemblies of the opposition parties and organisations or groups that
highlighted various demands and issues. During the month of Ramadan in June,
the ruling party activists attacked and stopped the Iftar Mahfil organised by BNP in a mosque.[4] Supporters of the ruling party attacked the
motorcade of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in Rangunia of
Chittagong while he along with his party men were going to Rangamati to express
condolences and provide aid to the victims of landslides. As a result, 15 BNP
leaders and activists, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were injured.[5]
The government flatly denies the
existence of incidents of enforced disappearance, despite the fact that on
January 16, 2017 Narayanganj District and Sessions Judge Syed Enayet Hossain
convicted 26 accused persons, including RAB-11 unit’s commander Lt. Col.
(Retd.) Tareque Sayeed and 16 RAB officers and members, for the disappearance
and murder of seven men in Narayanganj on April 27, 2014.6 There
were also several allegations of extrajudicial killings in the first six months
of 2017, although the Supreme Court of Bangladesh had issued several rules in
recent years on extrajudicial killings.[6] The law and justice delivery
system of the country is increasingly under threat and human rights are
seriously violated due to the persistence of extrajudicial killings. Many
victims-families alleged that members of law enforcement agencies arrested
their relatives and later the law enforcement claim that the victims were
killed in an incident of ‘crossfire’, ‘encounter’ or ‘gunfight’ after allegedly
shooting them dead. These staged narratives given by police or RAB during press
briefings or press releases, are almost the same in all the incidents. As a
result, what actually happened is unknown and the truth behind the incident
remains hidden. Instead of the legal process of arrest, investigation and
judicial intervention, it is observed that some members of RAB and police are
involved in criminalisation or are instructed by ‘higher authority’, which is a
matter of grave concern. The law enforcement agencies are enjoying impunity in
this regard.
There are also allegations of labeling
people as ‘extremists’ after disappearing them. A possibility is thus created
to harm people who are not ‘extremists’ during the operations at ‘extremists’
dens’. Human rights defenders have repeatedly cautioned about the possibility
of rising extremism in politics as a result of the hindrance to freedoms of
expression and assembly and constantly barring dissenting voices and protests.
Despite this caution, the government continues its acts of suppression. The
narrative that the law enforcement agencies have given regarding their
operations against ‘extremism’ are similar in almost all the cases. This resembles
the way the law enforcement agencies narrate the death of crime suspects in
‘gunfight’, ‘crossfire’ and ‘encounter.’[7]
Several repressive laws have been
drafted and enacted and a few repressive Acts have been made more stringent,
during the period of the current government. An example of the latter is the
Information and Communication Technology Act 2006 (amended 2009 and 2013). The government is suppressing dissenters and
alternative voices through imposing such repressive laws. If any citizen
criticizes the government or posts any critical comment against the government
on facebook, there is the possible risk that the government and the ruling
party activists, in retaliation, will file cases against them. The social media
was under monitoring by the government during these six months. The Information
and Communication Technology Act 2006 (amended 2009, 2013) (the ICT Act) is
being imposed against people who are critical of the decisions and activities
of those in high positions of the government and their families. Accurate and
impartial reporting and proper journalism are hindered as the government puts
pressure on the media and in most cases, journalists are forced to practice
self-censorship. The government is controlling most of the print media and the
electronic media. The government has already given approval to some new private
television channels under political consideration, whose owners are closely
connected with the government. Meanwhile, the government closed down
pro-opposition electronic media, such as Channel 1, Diganta TV, Islamic TV and
the publication of the print media, the daily Amar Desh since 2013. The Cabinet
has approved a draft policy to control the online media.[8] Journalists are being
attacked by criminals backed by the ruling party, while gathering information
or in relation to publishing reports. Local journalist and human rights
defender associated with Odhikar, Abdul Hakim Shimul was shot dead by a ruling
party leader in Sirajganj. On April 26, 2017, a Paris based organisation named
Reporters without Borders, that work in the area of freedom of mass media,
after reviewing the mass media of 180 countries, reported that Bangladesh's
position on the ‘Freedom of Mass Media Index’ has gone down two positions
compared to 2016. In the previous year, Bangladesh was in 144th
position.[9]
Regarding the situation of workers
during these six months, many incidents of closure of garment factories without
notice, termination of RMG workers and nonpayment of wages occurred. As a
result, workers unrest took place. In order to prevent such unrest, law
enforcement agencies attacked workers. Furthermore, lower earning workers in
other sectors (informal sector), such as construction workers and domestic
workers are being discriminated in various ways. Women workers appointed for
brick breaking are paid less compared to their male counterparts. Sexual
discrimination is very common in the informal sector. Children are also working
in this sector in hazardous conditions.
Attacks on citizens belonging to
religious and ethnic minority communities continue. The ruling Awami League
leaders and activists and some members of law enforcement agencies were
allegedly involved in these incidents.[10] In such cases, victims did
not get justice due to politicization of these incidents and the responsible
persons enjoyed impunity.
In Bangladesh, the economic gap between
the rich and poor is all too visible. Due to economic disparity and rights
violations, Bangladeshi citizens are going abroad using illegal channels through
traffickers. Among them, many tried to enter Europe with refugees of different
countries. Such trend is growing, as human rights violations increase due to
the lack of rule of law. A large amount of money is also being laundered
abroad. On 29 June, the Central Bank of Switzerland, Swiss National Bank (SNB),
mentioned in its annual report that in 2016 the savings of Bangladeshi citizens
in different banks in Switzerland was BDT 56.85 billion (USD 704.23 million)
while the amount was BDT 44.52 billion (USD 551.49 million) in 2015. As per
such statement, the deposition of money has increased by 20 per cent compared
to the previous year. This was the
highest amount of money deposited by Bangladeshi citizens at different banks in
Switzerland in last 12 years. According to the SNB report, the volume of
deposited money from Bangladesh to Swiss Banks has increased since 2012.[11]
Violence against women is another
significant issue in the country. Women become victims of dowry violence, rape,
sexual harassment, acid attack and domestic violence on a daily basis. Women
continue to become victims of such violence due to a prevailing culture of
impunity and lack of implementation of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1980,
Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act 2000 (amended 2003), Acid Crime
Control Act 2002, Acid Control Act 2002 and the Domestic Violence Prohibition
Act 2010. Meanwhile, the special provision of the Child Marriage Restraint Act
2017 has impliedly legitimised child marriage in Bangladesh.[12]
Furthermore, incidents of hindrance to
human rights activities and activism continued. During this reporting period,
harassment and persecution continued against Odhikar, which started in 2013. A
local human rights defender affiliated with Odhikar from Sirajganj was shot
dead by a ruling party leader and three other human rights defenders affiliated
with Odhikar from Munshiganj and Kushtia were detained in jail under the ICT
Act.
Rohingyas have been fleeing from the
Rakhine State of Myanmar and taking shelter in Bangladesh as refugees, due to
various forms of suppression and forced eviction carried out on them by the
Myanmar government. The sheer numbers of such refugees coming out of Myanmar
over the years and the targeted policies and violations they face, shows that
the Rohingya community people are becoming victims of ‘ethnic cleansing’.
Apart from internal violations,
Bangladesh is facing aggressive policies of the Indian government. This
increased after the 2014 National elections in Bangladesh. India is pushing
Bangladesh towards a terrible human and environmental disaster and economic
loss. India is taking transit facility through Bangladesh at almost no cost,
has been given the initiative to build the Rampal Power Plant that will destroy
the ecology in the Sundarbans; and a decision to implement an inter-river
connection project. Moreover, Indian government (aggressive) policy continued
to have an impact during this reporting period in various other ways, including
the signing of an Indian multinational company agreement with Bangladesh,
without any tender bids. Between January and June 2017, the Indian Border
Security Force (BSF) have killed or physically harmed anyone seen near the
border or anyone trying to cross the border. Bangladeshi citizens are even
attacked and abducted by BSF illegally entering Bangladesh, which are clear
violations of international law and human rights.
** Odhikar only documents allegation of enforced
disappearance where the family members or witnesses claim that the victim was
taken away by people in law enforcement uniform or by those who said they were
from law enforcement agencies.
*** The cases of arrests under the Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) Act that are documented are those where the
presentations/statements in question are considered critical against high
officials of the government and their families.
[1]
The Caretaker Government
system was incorporated in the Constitution through the 13th Amendment,
as a result of a people’s movement led by the then Opposition, Awami League and
its alliance between 1994 and 1996. However, in 2011 the Caretaker Government
system was removed unilaterally by the Awami League government through the 15th
Amendment to the Constitution, without any referendum; and ignoring the
protests from civil society organisations, political opposition and the people
at large. Instead, a provision was made that elections were now to be held
under the incumbent government. As a result, the controversial 10th
Parliamentary elections were held on January 5, 2014 despite boycotts by all
the major political parties. The election was not only farcical (for example,
153 MP’s were declared elected uncontested even before the polling commenced),
it was a hotbed for election-related crimes such as ballot-box stuffing,
capturing of polling stations, intimidation of voters and violence.
[2]
The daily Jugantor,
19/04/2017; www.jugantor.com/first-page/2017/04/19/118423/
[3]
The daily Bangladesh
Protidin, 21/05/2017; http://www.bd-pratidin.com/first-page/2017/05/21/233400
[4]
The daily Jugantor,
03/06/2017 www.jugantor.com/first-page/2017/06/03/129490/
[5]
The daily Naya Diganta,
19/06/2017 http://www.dailynayadiganta.com/detail/news/229670 6 The daily
Jugantor, 17/01/2017, www.jugantor.com/first-page/2017/01/17/93821/
http://www.esamakal.net/2017/01/17/images/03_112.jpg
[6]
Radio Sweden published a
report exposing method used by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to execute a
staged ‘crossfire’. In that report, a high-ranking official of RAB, as claimed
by Swedish Radio, was describing the torture and killings perpetrated by RAB.
The conversation was recorded without his knowledge. The man was giving
instructions to the field level officers on how they must shoot and kill and
keep a weapon beside the body. He also said that they buy weapons with the
money collected as bribes and leave them beside the bodies; so that it looks
like a shooting in self-defense. The RAB official said (in the broadcast) that
they are very careful to make sure that no clue is left behind. No ID cards
that slipoff. They put on gloves and also cover their shoes so as not to leave
footprints behind in the place of incident.
https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=6665807 . Also see the daily Jugantor,
25/04/2017
[7]
As for operations
against ‘religious extremism’ so far, after the July 2016 attack on Holey
Artisan Bakery at Gulshan in Dhaka. For example, newborn and children were also
killed during such operations conducted against ‘religious extremism’ in these
six months. As a result what actually happens or happened in such operations,
the government could not clarify it to the people. The daily New Age,
29/04/2017; http://www.newagebd.net/article/14532/extremism-tackling-narrativewarrants-transparency
[8]
The daily Bangladesh
Pratidin, 20.06.17; http://www.bd-pratidin.com/first-page/2017/06/20/241446
[9]
The daily Jugantor,
27/04/2017; www.jugantor.com/last-page/2017/04/27/120491/
[10]
The daily Jugantor,
05/11/2016 www.jugantor.com/first-page/2016/11/05/73941/
[11] The daily Prothom Alo,
30/06/2017; www.prothom-alo.com/economy/article/1233421/
[12]
On February 27, 2017 the
National Parliament passed the ‘Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2017’ which
contains provisions for the marriage of minor girls in ‘special circumstances’.
The newly enacted law states that marriage of minor girls (below the age of 18)
can be done with the consent of the Court and parents, following due process in
‘special circumstances’ and for best interest. Thus such marriage will not be
considered a crime. The special provision of this Law legitimises child
marriage in Bangladesh. This 2017 law will grossly violate human rights and the
overall development of the child, including their rights to health, education
and mental growth. The previous Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 has made 18
years the minimum marriageable age for women and 21 for men. Despite this,
Bangladesh remains on the list of countries that have very high rates of child
marriages. The 2017 Act now legalises this social malpractice. www.jugantor.com/firstpage/2017/02/28/104781/
Source: Six-Month Human Rights Monitoring Report 2017
Source: Six-Month Human Rights Monitoring Report 2017
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