Case BGD 010411
Alleged extrajudicial killing/ No proper investigation/ Risk of impunity
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by ODHIKAR, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the alleged extrajudicial killing of Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol, a 44-year-old businessman from Lamapara village, Fotullah, in Narayanganj district.
According to the information collected by ODHIKAR, on 13 November 2010, at around 9:30 pm, six to seven armed men in plain clothes, who introduced themselves as members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) 11 Crime Prevention Company (CPC)-1, arrested Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol without any reason being given, at a relative’s tea-stall near Bhakesshori bus-stand No. 2, in Shiddhirgonj, where he was having tea with acquaintances. Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol was handcuffed, blindfolded, gagged and taken into a pickup. When he tried to flee, two of the RAB members allegedly twisted his neck and forced him to lie in the pickup. The members of the RAB 11 CPC-1 also reportedly threatened to open fire on the people on the street, who had gathered near the pickup, before they left with Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol to an unknown location.
According to the same information received, Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol’s sister, Ms. Sokhina Begum, started to look for her brother immediately after she was informed about his arrest by one of the acquaintances. She reportedly contacted the office of RAB-11, in Shiddhirgonj, and Fotullah Police Station but they denied having arrested him. The day after, some journalists informed her that Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol’s body had been found at Khanpur Hospital. There, she saw her brother’s body which reportedly bore five gunshot wounds.
According to a RAB 11 CPC- 1 First Information Report (FIR) filed at Shiddhirgonj Police Station, Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol was injured in crossfire between RAB officers and a group of criminals in Abu Mia’s plot, in Ati Housing area, in Shiddhirgonj, on 14 November 2010, at around 4 am. The RAB stated that Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol was shot by criminals engaged in arms trade and then taken by the police to the Khanpur hospital where he died under treatment (however, according to the attending doctor at the said hospital, Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol was already dead upon arrival at the hospital). It is further reported that seven cases, including on charges of kidnapping, murder and extortion, had been pending against Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the circumstances surrouding the arrest and death of Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol, which seem to suggest that he may have been victim of an extrajudicial killing. The RAB has repeatedly used “crossfire killing” to cover extradudicial killing. OMCT recalls that the authorities in Bangladesh have to fulfil their obligations under international human rights law to protect the right to life and to bringing to justice those responsible for violating this right. OMCT is indeed concerned that no effective investigation was conducted into the circumstances of the arrest and killing of Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol.
Accordingly, OMCT calls on the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the killing of Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol, in accordance with international human rights standards, inter alia, with the UN Principle on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh urging them to:
i. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the killing of Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol, in accordance with international human rights standards, inter alia, with the UN Principle on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Mohammad Fozlul Haque Fozol family members;
iii. Ensure that an effective remedy, including the right to full redress with compensation be granted to the victim’s family concerned;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Ø Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Gona Bhaban, Old Sangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: +880 2 811 3243, Email: info@pmo.gov.bd; pm@pmo.gov.bd
Ø Ms. Sahara Khatun, Minister for Home
Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat Building 4, Dhaka,
Bangladesh, Fax: +880 2 716 9667 or +880 2 717 1611. E-mail: 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, Fax: +880 2 7168557, E-mail: minoflaw@bdonline.com, info@minlaw.gov.bd
Ø
Dr. Dipu Moni, Honorable
Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fax: +880 2 9562188, E-mail: dirfe@mofa.gov.bd
Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission,
Gulpheshan Plaza (Level-11), 8, Shahid Sangbadik Selina Parvin Sarak, Boro
Magbazar, Dhaka-1217, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9137743. E-mail: nhrc.bd@gmail.com
Ø Mr. Mahbubey Alam, Attorney General for Bangladesh, Attorney General's Office, Supreme Court Premises, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9561568. E-mail: adv_mahbubey@yahoo.com
Ø Mr. Abdus Sobhan Sikder, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs. Fax: +880 2 7164788, E-mail : secretary@mha.gov.bd
Ø Mr. Hasan Mahmud Khandoker, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Phoenix Road, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh, Fax: +880 2 712 5840. E-mail : ig@police.gov.bd
Ø 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
Please also write to the embassies of Bangladesh in your respective country.
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Geneva, 1 April 2011
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