IV. Key Cases of Impunity the New Government Should Address

Below are 11 cases of grave human rights violations that exemplify the pattern of impunity that exists in Bangladesh. These cases have all previously been highlighted by Human Rights Watch, other international nongovernmental organizations, domestic human rights groups, diplomats, and the media. While in many of these cases the abuses have been documented in detail, less has been reported about the outcome of efforts to secure justice.

While we could describe hundreds of cases, these cases, which occurred between 1996 and 2008, were selected because of the considerable public attention they have received. This public attention put strong pressure on the authorities to investigate and prosecute those responsible, yet they failed to do so. Action now to address them could go a long way toward gaining public confidence that impunity will end and the rule of law will prevail.

The newly elected government led by Sheikh Hasina Wazed has the opportunity to ensure that victims or family members in these and other cases receive an effective remedy and that those responsible are brought to trial. Before the December 2008 elections, political parties had committed to reform and effective protection of human rights. The first step should be a determined effort to end impunity. Transparent investigation and prosecution of those responsible for serious violations will serve as effective deterrence to future abuses.

The "Disappearance" of Kalpana Chakma

According to reports by domestic NGOs and witnesses, in the early hours of June 12, 1996, a group of armed men arrived at the family home of Kalpana Chakma in Lallyaghona village in Rangamati district of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They entered her home by force, tied the hands of Chakma and her two brothers, blindfolded them, and took them away. Chakma's mother and her sister-in-law, who were also staying in the house, were left behind. The brothers escaped, but Kalpana Chakma remains missing.[76]

Chakma and her two brothers were taken to a lake a short distance from the house, where the two brothers managed to escape unhurt even though their captors shot at them. As Chakma's younger brother, Kalicharan, was running for his life, he says he heard her crying out, "Brother, brother, save me."[77]

Kalicharan has stated that he recognized three of the captors: Lieutenant Ferdous, a commander of Kojoichari army camp, and two members of the Village Defence Party, Nurul Haque and Salah Ahmed.[78] When Kalicharan, accompanied by the Union Parishad (elected local government body) chairperson, went to the nearby army camp the morning after her abduction to determine Chakma's whereabouts and secure her release, he says he was threatened by military personnel. Her other brother, Khudiram, went the same day to the police in Baghaichari and requested they file a First Information Report (FIR).[79]

According to the prominent human rights organization Ain O Salish Kendra, the First Information Report, which was read out to ASK staff by the police, does not mention the involvement of the army or the fact that Kalicharan had identified three of the abductors.[80] ASK reported in July 1996 that it feared that the police may intentionally have omitted vital information to protect the army.[81]

Chakma, a women's rights activist, was well aware of the dangers she was facing. She was the organizing secretary of the Hill Women's Federation, an organization working in the Chittagong Hill Tracts on the rights of women belonging to ethnic minority groups. She also campaigned for an independent candidate in the parliamentary elections that took place the same day as her abduction.

Two months before she was abducted, she wrote in a letter to Shaikat Dewan, a member of Pahari Chhatra Parishad (the Greater Chittagong Hill Tracts Hill Students' Council), saying, "We are in good health. But I feel unsure. Something terrible might happen any moment. I am very worried."[82] She also wrote in the letter that an army officer came to Lallyaghona village, burnt down nine homes, and beat up night guards.

The authorities shortly after the abduction presented different and contradictory theories as to what happened. They first proposed that her disappearance was related to a "love story," and then that it was staged by Chakma herself or her allies for political reasons.[83] A little known NGO called the Bangladesh Mahabodhikar Commission claimed in August 1996 that Kalpana Chakma had been found in Tripura in India, and that her mother had been in contact with her.[84] At a press conference a few days later, Chakma's mother stated that the report was a "blatant lie."[85]

On August 6, 2004, Mithun Chakma, Kalpana Chakma's friend, was picked up by the army when he was giving a speech at a Pahari Chhatra Parishad rally. He was taken to Khagrachari army camp, where he was severely beaten. He said that his torturers said to him, "The Kalpana thing, well we did that, but nothing happened, right?"[86]

In late August 1996, the government formed a three-member committee to investigate the "disappearance" and identify those responsible. The report of the committee has not been made public despite repeated requests from human rights workers and others. No charges were ever filed based on the findings of the committee.[87]

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Ensure that the report of the committee established to investigate Kalpana Chakma's "disappearance" is made public.
• Bring to justice in a fair trial those responsible for Kalpana Chakma's "disappearance."
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Torture of Debu Prasaddas

On August 9, 1999, while taking photographs of the police in connection with a local transport union strike near Chittagong port, Debu Prasaddas, a photojournalist with the Bangladesh Observer newspaper and Agence France-Presse, was attacked by several police officers who beat him with sticks and rifle butts.

Prasaddas was at the office of the truck drivers' union, monitoring the growing tension between transport workers who intended to call a strike and others who wanted to prevent such an action. When the police arrived around 10:30 a.m. and started to ransack the office where the pro-strike faction was based, Prasaddas began taking photographs. According to Prasaddas, seven or eight police officers, apparently angered by the presence of a photographer, took hold of him, threw him to the ground, and started beating him with their rifle butts, hitting him with sticks and stamping on his legs with their boots even as he kept shouting, "I am a reporter, I am a reporter."

When the beating stopped a few minutes later, Prasaddas was left with severe bruises on his back, legs, and around the waist. His left arm, with which he had been covering his head, was fractured. Shop owners took Prasaddas to the hospital where over 100 reporters gathered in solidarity. He was transferred to his home the same night, as both Prasaddas and his colleagues felt that his safety could not be guaranteed at the hospital.

Shortly after the incident, according to Prasaddas, the police started to request that he not file a complaint against those responsible for the assault. In exchange, the police offered to pay his medical bills. The Chittagong police commissioner also offered to assign a police officer to ensure Prasaddas's safety.

Nevertheless, Prasaddas made several attempts to file a complaint with the Port police station. Among those he accused was the station's officer in charge, Sub-Inspector Zafrullah, who, according to Prasaddas, ordered that he be beaten. He had also identified Sub-Inspector Md. Rafique, who explicitly ordered his subordinates to confiscate Prasaddas's camera. However, the officers at the police station made various excuses and refused to register the complaint.

With the help of the journalists' union, Prasaddas instead filed a case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Chittagong on August 30. A magisterial inquiry into the incident was eventually carried out.

However, Prasaddas says that he was pressured into withdrawing his case. He and the police signed a "contract" in which he agreed to not pursue the matter and the police apologized and assured that he would never be subjected to the same treatment again. "If I had not compromised I would have been harassed and tortured," he told Human Rights Watch.[88]

Despite the medical care Prasaddas received at Chittagong Medical Hospital and at the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims he continued to suffer "pain and occasional restricted movement of the left hand."[89] He had to travel to India for further medical treatment to fully restore the functioning of his injured hand.

The assault on Prasaddas received international attention. Amnesty International highlighted the case and two United Nations special rapporteurs expressed their concern in letters to the government.[90]The rapporteurs have received no response to their letters.

Prasaddas has suffered attacks in the course of journalistic work on several other occasions. The United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in a 2002 report, drew attention to this fact by stating that Prasaddas had been "subjected to ill-treatment by police on several occasions during assignment in connection with his work as a journalist."[91]

No one has ever been punished for the assault on Prasaddas. Sub-Inspector Zafrullah was transferred to Dhaka in early January 2000 and was subsequently sent on a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Make public the investigation report of the inquiry commission.
• Prosecute and dismiss from service those responsible for the torture of Debu Prasaddas.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Death of Sumon Ahmed Majumder

On July 15, 2004, Sumon Ahmed Majumder, a 23-year-old garment trader and activist in the Awami League's youth wing, the Jubo League, was arrested by members of RAB at his family home in Tongi. He died approximately 10 hours later, apparently from wounds sustained in custody.

Majumder was vice president of the Jubo League's ward No. 10 in Tongi. He was also a witness to the May 7, 2004, murder of Awami League parliamentarian and well-known trade union leader Ahsan Ullah Master.[92]

According to members of Majumder's family, a policeman identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector Monir from Tongi and a BNP activist named Abdul Ali-the brother of one of the 22 men later sentenced to death for the murder of Ahsan Ullah Master-came to their house around 2:30 p.m. on July 15. Majumder's mother told Human Rights Watch that Sub-Inspector Monir advised Majumder to end his political activities with the Awami League and join the BNP. If he did, Abdul Ali would pay him 2,000 taka per day (about US$30). Majumder refused to switch sides. Monir warned him that his decision would cause him big trouble.[93]

Around 3 p.m., shortly after Monir and Abdul Ali had left the house, a man who identified himself as Sub-Inspector Shajahan from RAB in Uttara arrived with a large group of armed men, Majumder's mother said. They arrested Majumder and took him to a minibus waiting nearby. The force also picked up two other men from the area: Akbar Hossain Pinku, age 20, and Majumder's cousin, known as Lokman, age 22. All three men were blindfolded.[94]

The minubus drove to the RAB-1 headquarters in Uttara, where, according to a witness, RAB officials beat the three men repeatedly with large batons and asked them who had killed Assan Ullah Master. At one point, some RAB members got a large electric drill with a bit as thick as an index finger. An eyewitness told Human Rights Watch that he saw how they drilled into the side of Majumder's right calf and put live wires on the wound.[95]

Following hours of torture, the three men were taken to Tongi police station by RAB officials led by Sub-Inspector Shajahan. However, the officer in charge at the station, Sub-Inspector Rafique, refused to accept them into his custody because of their poor physical state. RAB took them to the Tongi Hospital instead.[96]

Hospital records viewed by the human rights group ASK showed that Majumder was treated around 10:30 p.m. for assault and shock, a deep laceration on the right leg, and swelling on different parts of the body.[97]

Around 11:20 p.m. the three men were brought back to the police station with medical certificates. Sub-Inspector Rafique told the human rights organization Odhikar that he learned soon after that Majumder's condition had worsened, and, therefore, ordered that he be sent back to the hospital again. At 1:30 a.m. he was informed that Majumder had died.[98]

When Majumder's father saw the body a few hours later, he observed a deep cut under one of the knees. Under one foot he saw wounds that looked as if they were made by an electric drill. There were deep holes in several places on the legs as well as a bruise on the right cheek.[99]

Majumder's uncle, Abdus Salam, prepared the body for funeral. He told Human Rights Watch that Majumder had deep wounds on his legs, shins, and calves. He had a 15-centimeter cut on the back of his neck, although that might have been from the autopsy. He also saw bruises all over the body, in particular on the upper parts of the arms.[100]

The authorities have provided different and contradictory explanations as to what happened to Majumder. A police report examined by ASK said that Majumder was injured while resisting arrest.[101] In a public statement RAB said, however, that Majumder was killed when an angry mob beat him after he was caught collecting extortion money with two accomplices from a local businessman.[102]

The two men arrested at the same time as Majumder were charged with extortion, but acquitted on appeal and released in July 2005.

In late 2006, Human Rights Watch raised the killing of Majumder in a report about RAB entitled "Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Torture and Extrajudicial Killings by Bangladesh's Elite Security Force."[103] In a September 2007 response to the report, RAB maintained that Majumder was attacked by a mob, but added that the mob beat him to death after he walked into a trap organized by the law enforcement agency.[104]

After Majumder's death his father received anonymous warnings not to file a complaint. He nevertheless tried to file a case with the local police, but a police official named Tharikul Islam told him that no complaints could be filed against RAB.[105]

At this writing, no RAB members are known to have been punished for Majumder's death and no investigating authority has ever been in contact with his family.[106]No one is known to have been punished for the death of Majumder.

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Institute an independent and impartial investigation into the torture and death of Sumon Ahmed Majumder and make the outcome of the investigation public.
• Bring to justice in a fair trial those found to be responsible for the torture and death of Sumon Ahmed Majumder.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Death of Abul Kalam Azad Sumon

On May 30, 2005, RAB forces arrested three young men in Dhaka, including Abul Kalam Azad Sumon, a professional accountant and an active member of the Awami League's student wing. He was taken to the RAB-3 headquarters. The next morning his family found him dead in the back of a van at the local police station.[107]

Sumon and two of his colleagues were arrested shortly after 9 p.m. by RAB officers at their workplace, a local cable operator called Lorel International in Dhaka's Khilgaon district. The three men were handcuffed, placed in a vehicle, and taken away. The RAB offices explained to others who had gathered during the arrest that they had been searching for the men in relation to hidden arms.[108]

Sumon's parents started looking for their son as soon as they heard that he had been taken away. Around 2:30 a.m. they arrived at the RAB-3 compound. They were not allowed to enter, but could see their son sitting in the back of a white minibus. According to his father, Sumon was blindfolded and looked only semi-conscious. A RAB-3 official told them that Sumon would be transferred to the Khilgaon police station in the morning. The parents waited outside until the minibus, with Sumon inside, left the compound a few minutes later.

Around 5 a.m. Abdul Hakim, Sumon's father, went to the police station, where he saw his son's body lying in the back of a police van. In the evening, the body was handed over to the family. Abdul Hakim said that there were several bullet wounds to the chest, as well as signs of torture.[109]

A relative of Sumon who was present when the autopsy was conducted at Dhaka Medical College and who later prepared Sumon's body for funeral told Human Rights Watch that he saw severe bruises on Sumon's legs, under his feet, and on his back. He saw a gash on his forehead, and the cheek bones were broken on both sides. There were six bullet wounds in his chest and upper abdomen, and two more in the right arm.[110]

Human Rights Watch viewed a copy of the magistrate's body exam report which was largely consistent with the relative's claim, reporting six bullet wounds, a half-inch cut above the nose, and a quarter-inch cut above the left eyebrow.

However, a day after his arrest, May 31, 2005, RAB issued a statement saying that in a fierce gun battle around 3:30 that morning, RAB forces had shot and killed a notorious criminal named Goailya Sumon, who had murdered two men in Khilgaon. RAB struck the victim with bullets three times in the head and chest when he tried to escape the scene during a shootout.[111] It is significant that RAB could make this claim despite the fact that there were witnesses to Sumon's arrest and to his presence in the custody of the RAB. Some media reports suggested that Goailya Sumon and Abul Kalam Azad Sumon were two different people, with the former being the criminal, and that RAB had arrested-and killed-the wrong person.[112]

After Sumon's death, his parents attempted to file a complaint with the Khilgaon police station, but officers at the station refused to register the case.[113]On July 6, 2006, Sumon's mother instead filed a case with the Dhaka court against then-State Minister Lutfozzaman Babar, then-Home Secretary Safar Raj Hossain, several RAB officers, and a leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (the BNP's student wing). In her complaint, Sumon's mother said that her son had switched support from the BNP to the Awami League. This had angered Mirza Abbas, then minister of public works and member of parliament for the Khilgaon area. The judge ordered a judicial inquiry into Sumon's death.[114] However, no inquiry is known to have taken place.

According to Abdul Hakim, during the first year after Sumon's death, the family received repeated threats from visitors in civilian clothes, and anonymous phone calls. They were warned against pursuing the case and told they would face the same fate as their son if they did. On March 18, 2006, Sumon's father said, the police detained him without explanation and beat him with a large baton. Four days later he showed Human Rights Watch dark and large bruises on both legs and the right arm.[115]

There have allegedly also been attempts at buying the family's silence. In May 2008, Abdul Hakim told Human Rights Watch, "Before January 11, 2007 [when the state of emergency was declared], people from Mirza Abbas's side tried to negotiate with us, offered us huge sums of money, but I declined that. After January 11, everything stopped. Though Mirza Abbas is in jail, he was not shown arrested in my son's case."[116]

The other two men picked up with Sumon were released without charge after having spent about a month in detention.

Sumon's family has not stopped searching for justice. "I check with my lawyer every month," Abdul Hakim said.[117]

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Ensure implementation of the judicial inquiry, with full participation of Abul Kalam Azad Sumon's family.
• Bring to justice in a fair trial those found to be responsible for the torture and death of Abul Kalam Azad Sumon.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Death of Md. Masudur Rahman

On March 8, 2006, RAB forces in Dhaka arrested Md. Masudur Rahman (known as Iman Ali), a businessman and local leader of the Jubo League. His body was found the next morning in a field near his home with bullet wounds and signs of torture.[118]

According to Rahman's uncle, who witnessed the arrest, Rahman was leaving the Dhaka court around noon on March 8 when a man with a black beard, wearing a white punjabi (long shirt) and a cap, told Rahman that he had to come with him. Six or seven other men then gathered and Rahman reluctantly went with them into a white minibus parked nearby.[119]

Suspecting that the men were security personnel in plainclothes, and concerned for Rahman's safety, his uncle and other family members visited several police and RAB stations. They could discover no information about the apparent arrest. Around 6 a.m. the next day the family was informed by factory workers who came to their house in Savar, northwest of Dhaka, that Rahman had been killed and that RAB forces were guarding his body near the Panna Textile Mill, located about a kilometer from his home.[120]

The family went to the mill, where they found Rahman's dead body lying face up in a nearby field. Nazrul Islam, Rahman's brother, did not inspect the body closely but he saw bullet wounds in the chest, and blood on the shirt.[121] Others who saw the body gave a consistent account. "There were three bullet hits in Rahman's chest, but surprisingly none of the bullets went through the shirt he was wearing," an unnamed security guard at the textile mill who saw the body told the press.[122] Human Rights Watch interviewed a witness who saw the body. He said that, in addition to the bullet wounds, Rahman had no skin on the left side of his back, as if he had been burned. His fingers looked broken and swollen and he had a hole in his right big toe.[123]

The police took the body to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and returned it to the family later that day. While preparing the body for funeral, Nazrul Islam said, the family saw three bullet wounds in Rahman's chest, as well as other wounds that they attributed to torture. The body had no skin on the back, shoulders, and part of the right arm. There were holes in the tips of both big toes, as if someone had hammered in a nail. The left cheek was black and blue around the eye and ear. Except for the thumbs, all of the fingers were swollen and bruised.

RAB issued a press release giving its side of the story. Acting on a tip-off, a team of RAB-4 had arrested the "top terror Iman Ali" around 2:15 p.m. on March 8, the statement said. During interrogation, Iman Ali confessed to having a large cache of arms and ammunition and that his accomplices were preparing "some major kind of crime." The statement continued:

A team of RAB-4, on March 9, 2006, around 4:35, with Iman Ali, went near Akrain Panna Textiles Mill in Birulia Union under Savar Thana when a group of unidentified criminals started indiscriminately shooting at RAB members who, in self defense and in order to save public property, started firing back. At one point while the shootout was going on terrorist Iman Ali tried to use the chance and escape, thus he came in the line of fire of both the shooting parties. After the exchange of fire was over, RAB searched the area and saw Iman Ali bullet ridden and dead.[124]

The reason for Rahman's apparent murder remains unknown, but it is possibly due to his political activity in the Awami League's youth wing, and in particular his advocacy on behalf of poor villagers engaged in a land dispute.[125] One person interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that a private company had placed a bounty of 3 million taka (about US$45,000) on Rahman's head.[126]

Rahman's family tried to file a complaint about his death with the Savar police station, but the police refused to accept the complaint, Nazrul Islam said. Instead, Nazrul Islam brought charges against then-State Minister Lutf0zzaman Babar, his cousin Mirza Hafizur Rahman, and several RAB officers.[127] At this writing, the case is pending before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. In September 2008, the family's lawyer told Human Rights Watch that he had no hope that any of those responsible would be held to account anytime soon.[128]

Rahman's family is continuing to receive threats. In May 2008, some of the accused came to the area where Rahman used to live and, according to a witness, looked for his brother. The witness recounted that the accused said, "We killed one of the brothers, now we will kill the other."[129]

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Investigate, identify, and bring to justice in a fair trial those found to be responsible for the torture and death of Md. Masudur Rahman (known as Iman Ali).
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Torture of Shahidul Islam

On January 27, 2007, soldiers from the Tala army camp in Shatkhira district arrested, detained, and tortured Shahidul Islam, the director of the well established social development organization Uttaran.[130]

According to eyewitnesses, army officials approached Islam at the Uttaran training center at around 10:30 a.m. Shortly afterwards two military vehicles with over a dozen additional soldiers arrived. Islam was taken to the nearby Tala military camp, where his colleagues, local citizens, and journalists quickly gathered outside.

One eyewitness told Human Rights Watch that he saw Islam being questioned by camp commander Major Mehedi Hasan. Islam was asked about Uttaran's sources of funding and about his visits to an area where Maoist groups operate. The eyewitness then heard the major order some soldiers to "take him inside." The eyewitness crept to the back to see where Islam had been taken. He told us:

I saw that they took him to the bathroom. I could hear them beating him. I could hear the sound of sticks. When they brought him out, his shirt was covered in blood. He could not walk and had to be carried. I think he was unconscious.[131]

Islam himself, who has only partial memories of what happened, told Human Rights Watch:

At the army camp I was blindfolded and my hands were tied. Then they started beating me with stick-like objects-I am not sure since I could not see anything. The beating went on for a long time and soon I became totally disoriented. At one stage I fell unconscious. When I came back to my senses, I found myself in a police station where a doctor carried out medical checkups.[132]

According to the human rights organization Hotline Bangladesh, Islam was unable to move by the time he arrived at the local police station. He suffered from severe pain in his throat and was unable to speak properly. There were multiple bruises all over his body, but especially on his legs and back. Both sides of his feet were dark.[133]

On January 28, Islam was taken to the district prison in Satkhira town, where he was treated at the prison hospital. The following day he was transferred to the general hospital in Satkhira town. He suffered from low blood pressure and a foot fracture. About a week later, Islam was sent back to prison to await trial on several charges.

As the news of Islam's arrest and torture spread, Uttaran's development partners took immediate action to try to ensure his safety, and at least one foreign diplomatic delegation in Dhaka raised their concerns with the law advisor in the military-backed interim government.[134] Among those who acted on the case were the United Nations special representative of the secretary-general on the situation of human rights defenders, the special rapporteur on torture, and the chairperson-rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, who sent the interim government an urgent appeal on February 5, 2007. In a reply, the Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva stated that Islam was arrested by the security joint forces on the basis of specific information about his links to political party activities, banned during the state of emergency. It further said that Islam was interrogated according to existing procedure. The allegation of torture was rejected.[135]

On August 21, 2007, Islam was granted bail by the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. Later all charges against him were dismissed.

At this writing, no investigating authority has ever been in contact with Islam to hear his side of what took place in the army camp, and Human Rights Watch is not aware of anyone being punished or sanctioned in connection with the case.[136]

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Institute an independent and impartial investigation into the torture of Shahidul Islam, with the full participation of the victim, and make the outcome of the investigation public.
• Bring to justice those found to be responsible for the torture.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Death of Khabirul Islam Dulal

On February 20, 2007, navy officers arrested Khabirul Islam Dulal, a 32-year-old ward commissioner and leader of Jubo Dal, BNP's youth wing, in Bhola district. Dulal was beaten in front of several witnesses and taken to a nearby naval base where he died the same day.

According to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, media reports, and investigations by human rights organizations, colleagues witnessed the arrest of Dulal around noon at his office in Char Fashion Municipality by navy personnel under the command of Lt. SM Reza.[137]

According to his wife and father, Dulal was then blindfolded, accused of possessing illegal arms, and taken to the navy camp where he was stripped of his clothes and beaten. A large group of people that gathered outside the camp was not allowed to enter, but could see from the outside what was going on inside.[138]

Still blindfolded and with his arms tied behind his back, Dulal was then taken to his aunt's house and after that, at around 3 p.m. to his own home. Dulal's wife Jesmin Akter Khuku was at home at the time. She told Human Rights Watch:

When the navy officers came inside our courtyard, they started kicking and hitting my husband with their sticks. One of the soldiers told me that he would not survive. When I tried to run over to him, they hit me as well. They searched our house at the same time. They broke our furniture and took 50,000 taka [US$725] and gold worth 150,000 taka.[139]

According to an investigation report by Odhikar, Dulal's two young children, who were also present at the time, were slapped by the soldiers and held at gunpoint.[140]

When the search was completed, Dulal was pushed and forced to run, still blindfolded and with his hands tied behind his back, to a nearby house belonging to Nazimuddin Alam, a former BNP member of parliament. The caretaker of the house was reportedly beaten as he tried to intervene when the soldiers broke into the house and started vandalizing it in their search for weapons. None were found.[141]

Dulal was then dragged to the next door house where he was again beaten and the soldiers requested chilli powder, rice husks, and salt, which he was forced to drink. He was also thrown into a pond.[142] In a state of unconsciousness, he was carried to the navy officers' car and taken to their base.[143] Odhikar has reported that navy officers informed the organization that Dulal fell into a pond and drowned while trying to escape.[144]

When Dulal was taken to the Char Fashion health complex at around 10:30 p.m., he had been dead for some time. A doctor who examined Dulal's body told Odhikar that there were large amounts of water in the stomach, that the throat had been distended and that toe and finger nails were missing. He also noticed that the body, including the testicles, was severely bruised and that pieces of skin were falling off. According to Odhikar, the doctor also said that there were clear marks from the ropes that had been tied around Dulal's wrists.[145]Photographs examined by Human Rights Watch showed wounds under Dulal's feet, and bruises and cuts on his legs and arms.

While there are various theories as to why Dulal was tortured and killed, his family members believe that his death is related to a land dispute they had with a local resident with military connections. This person had allegedly filed a complaint with the navy base.[146]

On February 21, Dulal's family tried to file a report at the local police station, but the police refused to receive their complaint. When they turned directly to the deputy police commissioner in Bhola, they were told that he was unable to take any action against the joint forces.[147] Eventually a case was instead filed with the magistrate court against Lieutenant Reza and 16 others.[148] The family has tried, without success, to obtain a copy of the post mortem exam report.[149]

At this writing, no one has been prosecuted for the torture and death of Dulal and Human Rights Watch is not aware of any disciplinary actions being taken against anyone involved in the case. Dulal's father told Human Rights Watch that he had written letters to the police, Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed, the navy chief, and human rights organizations informing them of what happened to his son and requesting that they help him find justice. He has never received any reply from the authorities and no investigating authorities have ever been in contact with him.[150]

Dulal's family members have told Human Rights Watch that they have been threatened and warned against pursuing the case.[151] According to Odhikar, local journalists were told by navy officers to only write that Dulal died while trying to escape, and that they would meet the same fate as him if they disclosed any other information.[152]

In March 2007, an Odhikar investigator questioning navy personnel was told by Lieutenant Reza that he would have him arrested as a terrorist.[153] On May 3, Odhikar's acting director Nasiruddin Elam was summoned to the Navy Headquarters where he says he was briefly detained, threatened by Navy intelligence Director Jobaer Ahmed and DGFI officers, and accused of being an enemy of the state. Nasiruddin Elam told Human Rights Watch that the intelligence director also said that it was the duty of the armed forces to kill him.[154]

A few weeks after Khabirul Islam Dulal's death, Lt. SM Reza and other navy officers were transferred from the Char Fashion area.[155]

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Institute an independent and impartial investigation into the death of Khabirul Islam Dulal and make the outcome of the investigation public.
• Bring to justice in a fair trial those found to be responsible for the torture and death of Khabirul Islam Dulal.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Death of Choles Ritchil

On March 18, 2007, a group of soldiers led by Maj. Toufique Elahi arrested Choles Ritchil, a political leader of the indigenous Mandi tribe, and three of his companions and brought them to an army camp in Modhupur district, where they were allegedly beaten. The following day the family received his dead body.[156]

According to investigations by NGOs, media reports, and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, at around 1:30 p.m. men in plainclothes stopped and surrounded the vehicle in which Ritchil, Pratap Jambil, Tuhin Hadima, and Piren Simsang were travelling on their way home from a wedding. The four men were forced into a waiting van and taken to Kakraidh army camp where soldiers started beating Ritchil and asking him about possessing illegal weapons.[157]

An eyewitness interviewed by Human Rights Watch described the treatment of Ritchil:

They started beating Choles with two canes and poured hot water on his back. Then they applied a mixture of green pepper and salt on his bruises and cuts...

A soldier started pulling off Choles's right toenail with the pliers. Choles started screaming like a beast and told the officer that he did not have any illegal arms...

Choles was then stripped naked and a soldier administered the pliers on his penis and testicles. Another soldier lit a candle and started dropping hot wax on the area. Choles was by that point nearly unconscious and was moaning in pain. Then a young second lieutenant who spoke in Chittagongian dialect came into the room and started caning Choles himself.[158]

Hadima and Simsang were released around 6:20 p.m. and were told to come back to collect Ritchil's body.[159] Later the same evening the soldiers decided to take Ritchil and Jambil to the hospital. It is likely that Ritchil was already dead at that stage.[160]

The family received Ritchil's body the following day.[161] Jambil went into hiding after having spent some time in hospital.[162]

The police officer in charge of Modhupur police station told journalists that

"acting on a tip, the joint forces raided Maguntinagar Sunday [March 18] evening. Sensing the presence of the joint forces, Ritchil tried to escape and fell to the ground and lost consciousness."[163] He further said that the joint forces rushed Ritchil to Modhupur Upazila Health Complex where he died at 8:15 p.m.

Members of the army had a slightly different explanation for Ritchil's death. They said that he died of heart failure while fleeing arrest. The initial autopsy report said that he died of natural causes.[164]

A week after Ritchil's death, Human Rights Watch interviewed two relatives who had washed and prepared the body for funeral. Both gave identical descriptions of torture marks seen on the dead body. According to one testimony:

His eyes had been plucked out and replaced with artificial "marble eyes." His testicles were smashed into pulp. Both arms were dislocated, the palms of both hands were smashed, the fingernails of the right hand had been removed, while the thumbnail on the left hand had also been removed. His fingers were broken… there were bruises and cuts all over the body especially on the back. The skin on the back appeared burnt and there were deep cuts under both knees, and nails missing from his toes.[165]

Ritchil's family has repeatedly tried filing a case against the army officers. However, indigenous leaders in Modhupur and relatives interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that the police and local administration have refused to record their complaint, as the police have already filed a case of "unnatural death."[166]

A witness to the arrest and torture of Ritchil told Human Rights Watch that the army officers did not wear any nametags and that the only person he could identify with certainty was Major Toufique. However, he said he picked up a few names the soldiers used while addressing each other, including Sadaat, Jamal, Sajal, Kaiser, and Nuru.[167]

Human rights defenders and journalists reported widely on the torture and murder of Ritchil.[168] The case has also been taken up by diplomats based in Dhaka who raised it with the interim government.

On May 5, 2007, the government formed a one-member judicial investigation commission.[169] Family members, human rights workers, and local activists testified before the commissioner.[170]On June 10, 2007, Ritchil's body was exhumed and sent for an autopsy to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

However, the report of the commission was not made public, nor were family and friends informed of its findings.[171] One relative told Human Rights Watch:

The autopsy or forensic report was never made public. We tried several times to obtain copies but failed due to pressure from different intelligence agencies on the hospital authorities. However, one person from the hospital claimed the reason given in the report was that Choles died from a heart attack. Some people from the intelligence agencies also tried spreading this rumor in Modhupur.[172]

As far as Human Rights Watch is aware, no one has been prosecuted in connection with the case. The government has said that four army personnel were given disciplinary sanctions, including dismissal from service and denial of promotion.[173] Maj. Toufique Elahi was allegedly transferred out of Modhupur shortly after the incident.[174] The military, together with the administrative authorities, have given the family compensation of 52,000 taka (approximately US$750), two sewing machines, kitchen items, and food.[175]

Activists in Modhupur have been advised by the local administration, intelligence agencies, and the army "not to do anything that tarnishes the image of the country."[176]

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Make public the report of the judicial investigation commission.
• Bring to justice in a fair trial those found to be responsible for the torture and death of Choles Ritchil.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.
• Make public the names of those who have received disciplinary sanctions for Choles Ritchil's death.
• Ensure that Choles Ritchil's family are provided with a copy of the autopsy report.

The Torture of Tasneem Khalil

On May 11, 2007, DGFI arrested Tasneem Khalil, a reporter for The Daily Star who also worked on projects for Human Rights Watch and was CNN's news representative in Bangladesh. Khalil was taken to the DGFI headquarters inside the Dhaka cantonment and severely and repeatedly beaten. Following massive media attention and interventions from human rights organizations and Dhaka-based diplomats, Khalil was released 22 hours later.

According to Khalil and his wife, at around 12:50 a.m., four or five men presenting themselves as being from the "joint forces" came to their apartment in central Dhaka. They started searching through documents, papers, and a computer. When Khalil objected, one of the men pulled his revolver from its holster, pushed it against Khalil's lips and shouted, "You are under arrest."

Khalil was handcuffed and blindfolded and taken to the DGFI headquarters. He was given a medical examination and placed in a soundproofed room that according to Khalil was equipped and designed for torture. He was forced to provide information about his email accounts and passwords. He went through several rounds of interrogation during which he was threatened that he would be killed, and was repeatedly punched in the head, poked in the stomach, and beaten on other parts of the body:

Suddenly people on both sides of me started brutally beating me with batons on the lower back, just below and next to my kidneys. The pain was excruciating...

They started beating me again. The senior officer took a baton and kept ramming it hard under my navel and lower abdominal area. I was in severe pain. The beating and torture seemed to go on for an eternity.

Khalil was forced to write a confession admitting that he was engaged in various activities against the interests of the state and the security forces. He also had to twice read out his confession in front of a videocamera.

As soon as the soldiers had left with Khalil in their custody, his wife called Human Rights Watch and CNN. The news of his arrest spread quickly in the international media. Foreign diplomats raised their concerns with government officials within hours of his arrest (a group of diplomats had a few days earlier been briefed about a number of threatening phone calls Khalil had received from individuals claiming to be from DGFI and RAB). Following negotiations, involving The Daily Star's editor Mahfuz Anam, Khalil was released around 11 p.m. Before he was let go, he was instructed to not tell anyone about what had happened to him in custody and to never write anything against the army or the government.

Khalil immediately went into hiding. However, it took four weeks, and several meetings between foreign diplomats and leading representatives of the interim government and the armed forces, before DGFI agreed to return Khalil's passport and guarantee his safe passage out of the country. Khalil, his wife, and their infant son were granted asylum in Sweden, where they currently live.

On May 14, four United Nations special procedure mandate holders in a communication with the interim government expressed concern that, "the arrest and detention of Mr Khalil might be directly related to his peaceful work in defence of human rights…" In letters dated May 15 and October 31, 2007, the government informed that Khalil had been brought in for interrogation and that no information regarding discourteous behavior toward him was reported.[177]

In February 2008, Human Rights Watch released the report "The Torture of Tasneem Khalil: How the Bangladesh Army Abuses its Power under the State of Emergency,"[178] which contained a detailed statement from Khalil about the 22 hours he spent in the custody of DGFI. The report received extensive international media attention. Due to the repressive media climate that prevailed at the time, it received almost no attention in Bangladesh.

There has been no official inquiry into the arbitrary detention and torture of Khalil and no one has been reported as being held to account.

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Institute an independent and impartial investigation into the torture of Tasneem Khalil and make the outcome of the investigation public.
• Bring to justice those found to be responsible for the torture.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Torture of Jahangir Alam Akash

On October 24, 2007, Jahangir Alam Akash, a journalist and human rights activist, was arrested by RAB-5 officials and taken to their headquarters where he was tortured and injured.

According to Akash, a group of 10-12 plainclothes RAB-5 officials under the command of Maj. Rashidul Hassan Rashid arrived at his home in Rajshahi at around 1:30 a.m. The men stated that they were searching for illegal arms, but did not present a warrant. They nevertheless entered the house, grabbed Akash, and started beating him in front of his wife, children, and landlord. Handcuffed and with a black cloth over his head, Akash was taken to the RAB-5 headquarters.[179]

At the headquarters ropes were tied around his wrists and he was suspended from the ceiling, still blindfolded. He was questioned about his reporting on RAB and beaten with bamboo canes, Akash told Human Rights Watch. After six hours, he was untied from the ceiling and given some water to drink. He was then suspended again, beaten by Major Rashid himself, and given electric shocks in his left leg and foot. At that point Akash lost consciousness.

Around 11:30 a.m., Akash says he woke to Major Rashid kicking and beating him. Akash realized that his legs were bleeding. At 2:30 p.m. he was taken to another room where he was photographed and fingerprinted.

Later in the afternoon, Akash was transferred to Boalia police station. Before being dropped off, RAB officers warned him that "if you disclose anything about the torture we will crossfire you." Around 7 p.m. he was taken to a Rajshahi court. No magistrate was present at the court and the police decided to take him straight to prison. As Akash's physical state was such that he was unable to walk, he spent the following 10 days at the prison hospital.[180]

On November 19, Akash, who had been charged with extortion, was released on bail. He was treated at the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma Victims until February 2008, as he was "suffering from various physical and psychological problems."[181] When Human Rights Watch interviewed Akash in July 2008, he still suffered from pain in his leg, and feared for his life.

Prior to his arrest, Akash had on several occasions reported on the activities of RAB and had been warned by Major Rashid that he would face retribution if he did not end this reporting.[182] United Nations special procedure mandate holders sent communications to the government concerning this threat as well as the subsequent arrest and torture. In a response dated November 26, 2007, the government stated that Akash was involved in toll collection, blackmail, and had a record of reporting false and fabricated stories. The government also claimed that he had started an international campaign to make the government refrain from taking lawful action against him.[183]

No investigation has been launched into the arrest, detention, and torture of Akash. Maj. Rashidul Hassan Rashid was reportedly promoted to acting commanding officer of the battalion.[184] He has subsequently, according to Akash, been recruited to serve in the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Côte d'Ivoire.[185]

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Institute an independent and impartial investigation into the torture of Jahangir Alam Akash and make the outcome of the investigation public.
• Bring to justice those found to be responsible for the torture.
• Ensure that all witnesses are protected from possible reprisals.

The Torture of Rizwan Hussain

On April 14, 2008, Rizwan Hussain, a Bengali-British citizen residing in London and a well known TV personality in the Bangladeshi community in the United Kingdom, was detained by air force personnel at Zia International airport in Dhaka. He has given a detailed account to Human Rights Watch of how the air force personnel tortured him in detention.

When Human Rights Watch interviewed Hussain in London one month after the event, he was still walking on crutches and had a leg and an arm in plaster cast. He described how the beatings to which he had been subjected had caused a fracture above the left ankle and a broken bone in his left arm.

Early in the morning of April 14, Hussain was at the airport to see off family members leaving for the United Kingdom on a British Airways flight. As he was about to leave the airport, he was approached in the check-in area by a security officer who asked what he was doing inside the airport building and requested that he come with him.

Hussain was then taken to an office downstairs and interviewed by Deputy Security Officer Iftekhar Jahan and two other officers. He was asked to confess to having entered the airport illegally with the intention of assisting illegal immigrants, Hussain told Human Rights Watch. He was asked to sign a blank paper, but refused to do so. Shortly afterwards five uniformed air force officers arrived and took Hussain to another room. The room contained nothing more than a row of chairs and a metal drum, in which several wooden batons, approximately one meter long and three inches thick, were placed.

While one of the officers, Mujib, remained outside the room to guard the door, the other four, Anwar, Saiful, Mizan, and Delawar, without asking any questions, started beating Hussain with the batons on his back, legs, and arms.

Hussain was then dragged to another room, where an air force officer was sitting behind a desk. Hussain told the officer that he was being beaten and pleaded for his help. The officer ignored his pleas and instead ordered the torturers to get a statement out of him, Hussain told Human Rights Watch.

Back at the room with the metal drum, the air force personnel started beating Hussain again:

I tried to protect myself with my feet. They therefore asked me to take off my shoes. They forced me to lie down and then started hitting me on my bare feet and ankles. That was when my leg broke.

When Hussain had recovered to the point that he could hold a pen, he was forced to write a statement saying that he had entered the airport illegally, that he had helped an illegal immigrant, and that he did not write the statement under duress.

Around 11 a.m. Hussain was released through the staff entrance. Shortly after his release, Hussain started talking publicly about the incident, and while he was still in Dhaka DGFI field officers recorded his account of what had happened.[186]

On April 21, the Ministry of Defence issued a first statement saying that Hussain had used abusive words and misbehaved, but that his allegations of having been assaulted by security forces were found to be true. The statement further said that the air force authorities had taken those responsible into custody, a high-level inquiry committee had been established, and proper punitive action had been taken against those responsible.[187]

In a second statement, issued a week later, the ministry said that a general court martial had been established to try personnel responsible for the assault. Tough punishments would be handed down to the guilty persons "on charge of irregularities and breaking discipline," the statement said.[188]

Hussain was initially asked to appear before the court martial on May 18, but he was unable, due to his injuries, to travel from London to Dhaka at that time. A new date was, therefore, set for the hearing and he testified in person before the court martial in October 2008.

According to Hussain, four of the air force members were found guilty in connection with the case and received a mixture of short prison sentences and disciplinary sanctions.[189] However, following its usual procedure, the armed forces have not officially released any information about the outcome of the court martial.

Human Rights Watch urges the government and its relevant authorities to:

• Make public the details of the court martial, including the names of those who have allegedly been suspended for the torture of Rizwan Hussain, and their sentences.