BGD 001 / 0519 / OBS 044.1
Release on bail /
Judicial harassment
Bangladesh
July 3, 2019
The Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT) and FIDH, has received new information and requests your urgent
intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed
by reliable sources about the release on bail of Mr. Mohammad Abdul Kaium, a member
of the Human Rights Defenders Network of the human
rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) Odhikar[1], a
member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network and of FIDH. Mr. Kaium is also a journalist at bdpress24.com and a web developer in Mymensingh District, Bangladesh.
According to the information
received, on July 2, 2019, the Mymensingh
Court granted bail to Mr. Kaium and on July 3 around 1 pm Mr. Kaium was
effectively released from Mymensingh Central Jail.
The Observatory welcomes the release on bail of Mr. Mohammad Abdul
Kaium but recalls that he should never have
been imprisoned, as his detention was arbitrary and merely aiming at preventing
him from carrying out legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory urges
the authorities of Bangladesh to put an end to all acts of harassment,
including at the judicial level, against him and all human rights defenders in
the country.
Background information:
On May 11, 2019, at around 5.30 pm, Mr. Mohammad
Abdul Kaium was arrested by
the Detective Branch of Police of Mymensingh after he had gone to see one of
his clients, Mr. Mohammad Idris Khan, aka Idris Ali[2], to receive the balance
due by the latter for a news portal Mr. Kaium developed for him. Mr. Idris Khan
offered to pay Mr. Kaium in US Dollars, but the latter refused, saying that he
would only accept his payment in Bangladeshi Taka. Mr. Kaium was arrested as he
was leaving Mr. Khan’s office. The police officers accused Mr. Kaium of
carrying US Dollars and being involved in “illegal business of foreign
currency”. Despite that they could not find any US Dollars on Mr. Kaium, they
still arrested him and took him to the Detective
Branch Police station of Mymensingh.
At 10.30 pm, the Detective Branch Officer-in-charge Shah Kamal, and
Sub-Inspectors Akram, Monju, Jewel, and Porimol asked Mr. Kaium to confess
about taking USD from Idris Khan, which Mr. Kaium refused to do. The latter
then asked to be produced before a court. The police officers became angry and
then Officer-in-charge Shah Kamal and Sub-Inspector Akram slapped and kicked
him. Later, Sub-Inspector Porimol asked Mr. Kaium to remove his belt and then
the police officer started beating him with his belt, while Sub-Inspector Monju
hit him with a wooden chair and Sub-Inspector Jewel punched in his head. As Mr.
Kaium still refused to confess anything, the officers went away.
On May 12, 2019, the police informed Mr. Kaium
that he was arrested under Sections 23 (“digital or electronic fraud”), 25 (“publishing, sending of
offensive, false or fear inducing data-information”)
and 29 (“to publish, broadcast, […]
defamatory information”) of the Digital
Security Act of 2018 and Sections 385 (“putting person in fear of injury in
order to commit extortion) and 386 (“extortion by putting a person in fear of
death or grievous hurt”) of the Bangladeshi Penal Code.
On May 14, 2019,
the Mymensingh Court rejected Mr.
Kaium’s bail application. On May 16, 2019, Mr.
Kaium’s lawyer filed a bail application to the Sessions Judge Court in
Mymensingh, which again rejected the bail application on May 23, 2019.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh, urging
them to:
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the
physical integrity and psychological well-being of Mr. Mohammad Abdul
Kaium as well as of all human rights
defenders in Bangladesh;
ii. Carry out an
immediate, thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation into the
above-mentioned allegations of torture against Mr. Mohammad Abdul Kaium in order to identify all
those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and sanction them
as provided by the law;
iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment,
including at the judicial level, against Mr. Mohammad Abdul Kaium, as well as of all human rights defenders in
Bangladesh and ensure that they are able to carry out
their activities without hindrance;
iv. Conform in all circumstances to the
provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9,
1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular its Articles 1 and
12.2.;
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human
rights instruments ratified by Bangladesh.
Addresses:
·
Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2
8113243, Email: pm@pmo.gov.bd
·
Professor Dr.Gowher Rizvi, Adviser to the Prime Minister (International
Affairs), Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9111312 Email: advinternational@pmo.gov.bd
·
Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, State Minister for Home Affairs of Bangladesh.
Fax: +880 2 9515541. Email: stateminister@mha.gov.bd
·
Mr. Anisul Huq, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of
Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 7168557. Email: minoflaw@law.com
·
Md. Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9562188. Email: fm@mofa.gov.bd
·
Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Bangladesh,
Fax: +880 2 956 5058 /+880 2 7161344, E-mail: chief@bdcom.com or supremec@bdcom.com
·
Mr. Mahbubey Alam, Attorney General for Bangladesh, Email: adv_mahbubey@yahoo.com
·
H.E. Mr. Abdul Hannan, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of
the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations in 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,
Belgium, Fax: +32 2 646 59 98; Email: bdootbrussels@skynet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Bangladesh in your
respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic missions or embassies in
Bangladesh.
***
Geneva-Paris, July 3, 2019
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken
quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme
is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human
rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders
Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
[1] As a member of Odhikar’s Human Rights Defenders
Network, Mr. Abdul Kaium has taken active part in the organisation’s
information gathering, documentation, reporting and campaign against human
rights violations. He has also carried out several fact-finding missions in the
areas of rights violations, particularly on enforced disappearances,
extrajudicial killings, and torture.
[2]
Mr. Idris Khan is the Principal of a Madrassah in
Mymensing and a close relative of the ruling Awami League MP Hafiz Ruhul Amin
Madani.
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