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Urgent campaigns / Urgent Interventions / Bangladesh / 2013 / January

Bangladesh: Alleged extrajudicial killing of Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman by RAB members

Case BGD 100113

Alleged extrajudicial killing/ Risk of impunity

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 alleged extrajudicial killing, on 12 September 2012, of Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman, also known by locals as Tofa Molla, a 30-year-old farmer originally from Baroipara village in Kushtia district, living as tenant in Ataikula village in Pabna district.

According to the information received, on 11 September 2012, at around 8 pm five individuals, who identified themselves as RAB-12 officials (Rapid Action Battalion[1]) picked up Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman from his house without providing any information. They entered into the house while Mr. Atear Rahman was having dinner and took him with them to an unknown location.

On 12 September 2012, at around 7:00 am Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman’s wife learned from a neighbour that her husband had died in the kashbon[2] of Chorshadipur under Kumarkhali police station. She went to Chorshadipur where locals told her that last night RAB had shot a man to death and took his body away. A post mortem was reportedly conducted in Kushtia General Hospital and Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman’s body was later handed over to his family. According to witnesses, the body bore three gunshot wounds on the chest.   

According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered before Kushtia Court, RAB members denied having arrested Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman on 11 September 2012 and claimed that Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman was shot and killed in “crossfire” after he and his alleged accomplices opened fire on RAB early on 12 September 2012, in the kashbon area.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the circumstances surrounding the arrest and killing of Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman, which seem to suggest that he may have been victim of an extrajudicial killing. The RAB has repeatedly used “crossfire killing” to cover extrajudicial killing. OMCT calls upon the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, in accordance with international human rights standards, such as 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.

OMCT recalls that the authorities 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.

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 circumstances of the arrest and killing of Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman, in accordance with international human rights standards, such as 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 adequate sanctions as provided by law;

ii.              Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Mohammad Atear Rahman family members;

iii.            Ensure that an effective remedy, including the right to full redress with compensation, be granted to the victim’s family;

iv.            Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

Ø 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

Ø Mr. Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, H-16, R-25, B-A, Banani Dhaka-1213, Bangladesh, Tel: 880-2-8821334, 9883737, Email: mkalamgir@yahoo.com

Ø Barrister Shafique Ahmed, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Fax: +88-02-7168557, Email: info@minlaw.gov.bd

Ø Mr. Hassan Mahmood Khandker, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Phoenix Road, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh, Fax: +88-02-9563362, 9563363, Email: ig@police.gov.bd

Ø Ambassador Mr. Abdul Hannan, 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.

***

Geneva, 10 January 2013

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



[1] The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was established in 2004 as a force to assist the police in combating crime. It is made up of members of the armed forces and the police.

[2] A cotton field located nearby riverside. 

Properties

Date: January 10, 2013
Activity: Urgent campaigns
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Bangladesh
Subjects: Summary executions, extrajudicial killings

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