Introduction:
Extra judicial killing is one kind of crime. Any peaceful
man does not expect extra judicial killing. It cataract the judiciary and the
national human rights commission to make sure that human rights are fully
imposed ,not least with value allegations of pain and extra judicial killing by
law enforcing agencies of Bangladesh. If there is no punishment for such
crimes, there is no restriction emanating from the state and such violence
becomes authorized, officially or unofficially. In our country extra judicial
killing are mainly occurred by Rapid Action Battalion(RAB)and also other law
enforcing agencies like; Police, Ansar ,BGB, Coast Guard . Extra judicial
killing is also violation of fundamental human rights. One of fundamental
rights is to get proper judgment of law. In this assignment I find how extra
judicial killings are occurred by law enforcing agencies of Bangladesh.
What
is extra judicial killing?
Extra judicial killing is unethical, because every
man have to right to proper judgment. Extra judicial is that type of killing
before the judgment or during judicial process. “Though there is no legal
definition of extra judicial killing, If death is caused by a law enforcement
official without following the legal rules or due judicial process, it can be
measured extra judicial killing”[1]
An extra judicial killing is the killing of a person
by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or
legal process. Extra judicial punishments are by their nature unlawful, since
they bypass the due process of the legal jurisdiction in which they occur.
Extrajudicial killings often target leading political, trade union, dissident,
religious, and social figures and may be carried out by the state government or
other state authorities like the armed forces and police.
History of extra judicial killing in
Bangladesh:
From the very begging of Bangladesh’s birth in 1971,
different political parties are used their political to impetus the killings by
the armed forces and used these forces in “violation of law to consolidate
power and maintain control”.[2]
The continuous process became more dangerous in the period of BNP led
government, after forming government with three smaller parties jamat-e-islami
(which won 4.3 percent), jatio party naziur(which won 1.1 percent),
islamiokyejote(which won 0.7 percent),in October 2011. After taking power, to fulfill
one electionagenda “To fight against crime”and to tackle criticism from people.
Then
developed thirty thousand personal to fight crime under the name of “Operation
Clean-Heart”. Thousands of people were arrested and at least 50 people were
reported to be dead under their custody. Due to the failure of the operation,
the government then decided to form a elite force group with “a special unit of
police with a commando training called the rapid Action Team, or RAT, which is
known as Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB.
Law
enforcing agencies in Bangladesh:
Law enforcing agency which have their ability to apply their
powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs
will have some form of geographic restriction on their ability to apply their
powers. The LEA might be able to apply its powers within a country.[3]
In Bangladesh law enforcing agencies are:
3. Coast Guard
4. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB)
5. Ansar
6. Army
7. Forest Guard
8. Village Defense Police (VDP)
Fundamental human rights in
Bangladesh constitution:
Extra-judicial
killing or killing without the due process of law is a popular term. In the
ongoing debate this type of killing mostly by members of law-enforcing agencies
is being protested nationally and internationally on grounds of violation of
human rights. Among many others such rights are guaranteed both by the
constitution and by law. Bangladesh is no exception. Despite this, such
unconstitutional and unlawful acts do happen in Bangladesh and elsewhere. The
relevant members of the law-enforcing agencies are accused of such acts.
However, extra-judicial killing has other variants also. Members of the
law-enforcing agencies are bound by law to produce the person, accused of an
offence, to a competent court of law. This is based on the sound principle that
those who are authorized to carry arms or otherwise enjoy the coercive powers
of the state do not have the authority to impose punishment not recognized by
law.
In case of unarmed persons detaining an accused they have to send him to police for necessary action. This is not always the case.. It is least to be expected that all members of Rab are inclined to violate human rights. This applies across the public sector institutions as well as those of non-state actors. Rights are legal, social or ethnical values of freedom or right. And why extra judicial killing is not legal, here given some article of constitution of Bangladesh are given below:[4]
1. Equality before law.(Article-27)
2. Right to protection of
law.(Article-31)
3. Protection of right to life and
personal liberty.(Article-32)
4. Safeguards as to arrest and
detention.(Article-33)
5. Protection in respect of trial and
punishment.(Article-35)
6. Freedom of movement.(Article-36)
7. Enforcement of fundamental
rights.(Article-44)
8. Saving for certain law.(Article-47)
Types
of extra judicial killing in Bangladesh:[5]
Ø Crossfire/encounter/gunfight
Ø Death
due to torture
Ø Beaten
to death
Ø Shot
and killing
Ø Death
to torture in custody
Ø Public
lynching
An over view of extra judicial
killings in Bangladesh in2011.
1. Extra-judicial
killings plague Bangladesh’s social and political landscape. According to
information gathered by Odhikar, between January and December 2011, 84people
were killed extra-judicially by law enforcement agencies.
2. .
Despite the fact that a total of 84 people have reportedly been extra
judicially killed by law enforcers from when the present government assumed
power on January 6,2009 to December 2011, the Home Minister, Advocate Sahara
Khatun’s statement on January 26, 2011 did not even seek to condemn these
incidents. Instead, she said that “the law enforcement agencies will continue
their work, regardless of whatever is being said about extrajudicial killings.
The criminals are supposed to bekilled when law enforcers shoot at them in self
defence.”[6]
Odhikar considers this a deeply irresponsible statement from the political
superior of the law enforcement agencies. The Minister’s words demonstrate that
in the highest echelons extra judicial killings are effectively endorsed,
despite the pre-election promise of the Awami League that ‘extra-judicial
killing will be stopped.’[7]
3. Also
a concern of the Government’s hypocrisy on the matter as demonstrated by Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina’s statements on the issue when in London on January on
30.During a meeting with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of Human Rights
of the House of Lords, the Asia Director of Amnesty International and the
Director of the Human Rights Caucus, the Prime Minister stated that ‘if anyone
is found guilty after investigation of extrajudicial killing, we will take
action against the person as we believe that all citizens have the right to get
justice.’[8]
It is clear that when there is an international image to be upheld, the
government can deliver the rhetoric but not the action that is required at
home.
4. The
Government finally admitted to the occurrences of extra-judicial killing in a statement
by the Prime Minister made on February 3, 2011, at a press conference: “I have
always taken a stand against extra-judicial killings. Such killings are
continuing for a long time, which cannot be stopped overnight.”[9]
Though the admission of the long history is such killings is important the
following statement once more betrays a,lack of willingness to take decisive
action. Odhikar feels that Prime Minister’sstatement only encouraged those who
are involved in extra-judicial killings tocontinue.
5. It
is clear to Odhikar that the continuing trend of extra-judicial killing is of
greatdetriment to a healthily functioning society and undermines the rule of
law. Yet thegovernment has not been able to grasp this and further provided
mixed messageslater in the year. The Law Minister Barrister Shafiq Ahmed told
the daily AmaderShomoy on April 9, 2011, that ‘If any law enforcer kills a
person without a validground of self-defense, it should be termed an
extrajudicial killing and everyallegation of such killings should be
investigated.’122 Thus ‘it cannot be termed as‘extrajudicial’ killing, if
anyone kills anybody for self-defence.’123 This clauseeffectively undermines
the assertion that extra-judicial killings will be investigatedsince the excuse
of self-defense is what is pleaded in the majority of such killings bythe law
enforcement agencies.
Table 1: killing by law
enforcement agencies 2011[10]
|
Month(s)
|
RAB
|
Police
|
Rab-Police
|
Jail Authorities
|
Rab-Coast Guard
|
Total
|
|
January
|
05
|
02
|
00
|
00
|
00
|
07
|
|
February
|
08
|
06
|
03
|
00
|
00
|
19
|
|
March
|
05
|
02
|
00
|
01
|
00
|
08
|
|
April
|
02
|
03
|
00
|
00
|
00
|
05
|
|
May
|
00
|
05
|
00
|
00
|
02
|
07
|
|
June
|
04
|
01
|
00
|
00
|
00
|
05
|
|
July
|
01
|
00
|
00
|
00
|
00
|
01
|
|
August
|
05
|
03
|
00
|
00
|
00
|
08
|
|
September
|
06
|
01
|
00
|
01
|
00
|
08
|
|
October
|
04
|
00
|
01
|
00
|
00
|
05
|
|
November
|
01
|
04
|
00
|
00
|
02
|
07
|
|
December
|
02
|
04
|
00
|
00
|
00
|
06
|
|
Total
|
43
|
31
|
04
|
02
|
04
|
84
|
Types
of death and some Major Incidents of 2011:
Crossfire/encounter/gun fight:
v Among
the 84 extra-judicial killings reported in 2011, 65 persons were killed
in‘crossfire/encounters/gun fights’. Among the deceased 42 were allegedly
killed byRAB, 15 by police, 04 jointly by RAB and police and 04 jointly by RAB
and the CoastGuard.[11]
v The
terms ‘crossfire’, ‘encounter’ and ‘gunfight’ have become ubiquitous
euphemismsfor incidents when various law enforcement agencies are involved in
extra-judicialkillings. The uses of these euphemisms represent an attempt by
such agencies andthe government to conceal the reality of the brutality that is
experienced by many of[12]those
that die in extra-judicial conditions. Indeed the sense of accidental
collateraldeath that such terms relate to contributes to a culture where there
is almost noaccountability for law enforcement agencies and the deaths of
people can be passedoff with weak excuses.
v On
January 11, 2011, Imtiaz Hossain Abeer (19), a student of Northern College,
wasshot dead by police at the Pallabi area in Dhaka city. The family of the
deceased alleged that Abeer was called out through phone calls by police of
Pallabi Police Station, led by Assistant Sub Inspector Ismail. He was shot dead
by police, whoclaimed he was a member of a gang of robbers. There was no case
or General Diary against Abeer in any police station.[13]
v On
the same day as the press conference at which Sheikh Hasina admitted that extra-judcial
killings had a history in Bangladesh, a member of Purba Banglar Communist Party
(Red Flag), Abdul Hamid was also shot dead in a ‘gunfight’ with police in Pabna
on February 3. [14]
v On
February 4, 2011, a youth named Nurul Islam Shumon was shot dead by policeat
the Botanical Gardens in Mirpur in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area.[15]
Also on February 4, Hazrat Belal, alleged regional commander of the
underground party JSD Gonobahini, was reported as being killed by RAB and
Police in a joint operation at Harinakunda under Jhenaidah district.
v On
April 4, 2011, at around 2.30 am, Mohammad Shafiqul Islam (45), former Chairman
of Ziarkandi Union Parishad under Comilla district, was shot dead bymembers of
the Crime Prevention Company (CPC)-1 of RAB-11. The family of thedeceased
alleged that he was shot dead by RAB at Chhoto Karamerchor Dakshinpara village
under Araihazar Upazila in Narayanganj after being picked up from Demra in
Dhaka.[16]
v On
June 14, 2011 a student of class nine, Shadhin Ahmed Shuvo was allegedly killed
and his younger brother and Shuvo’s classmate Badal Mia were allegedlyinjured
by stray bullets shot by RAB-10 during an operation conducted by themagainst
drug peddlers in Pagla at Narayangonj.[17]
v On
August 12, 2011, five youths were shot dead by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at the
Jonopad Sarak area at Uttara in the Capital. RAB officials claim that all
thedeceased were ‘muggers’, who died in an exchange of fire between both sides.[18]Salma
Begum, wife of deceased Shahidul Islam, said that they live in Kodalkuchi village
under Nalitabari Thana in Sherpur District. Her husband was a farmer. She,and
her two children, came to her father’s house at Nirashpara in Tongi 15 days
ago.On August 12, her husband Shahidul Islam had come to Tongi to take them
backhome. Shahidul went out in the evening after Iftar[19].
They started searching for himwhen he did not return home. Later, after hearing
about the deaths from their neighbour, on August 14 she identified the body of
her husband at Dhaka MedicalCollege Hospital morgue. Salma stated that there
was no case or any record ofGeneral Diary against her husband.[20]
Death due to Torture
v Law enforcement agencies are not only killing citizens in
fictitious ‘crossfire’situations, torture in custody also features in the list
of crimes committed by suchagents in 2011. Though the numbers are lower than
those involved in crossfire, thefact that innocent people may be being tortured
to death mainly during remand incustody, is a shameful human rights violation
which the Government needs tourgently address
.
v Of the 84 reported extra judicial killings, 17 people were
allegedly tortured to death.Among them 14 were reported killed by police, one
by RAB and 02 by jail authorities of Noakhali and Lalmonirhat District Jail. Of
the 84 deceased, one person wasallegedly beaten to death by police.
v A sample story is that of Shafiqul Islam Raja (25), an under trial
prisoner of theDhaka Central Jail, who on April 23, 2011, died in Dhaka Medical
College Hospital.The family of Raja alleged that he was tortured by police
after being taken intorem and in Sutrapur Police Station in the Capital,
Dhaka.132 On November 05, 2011Roman's wife claimed that Detective Branch (DB)
Police took him from his shop onOctober 29, 2011 and beat him. The family
alleged that police demanded taka500,000 in return for not torturing him.
Roman's father claimed DB Police tortured hisson to death.[21]
v Torture in remand does not always result in death but is a too
common occurrence, for moredetails see the section on ‘Torture in remand’,
later in this report.
Shooting
v Only
one person was reportedly shot point blank in 2011. However it should
beremembered that the nature of the terms used to describe the circumstances of
extra-judicial killings (i.e. ‘crossfire’ etc.) makes it very difficult to
determine how accurate this is.
Custodial death
v The
safety and welfare of those in custody is an important human right.
Allegedcriminals deserve humane treatment throughout the judicial process.
However, inBangladesh this internationally accepted right has not been made a
reality. Though Odhikar accepts that people may die due to natural reasons in
custody, the detainedprisoners are often abused and deaths occur through
unwarranted violence.
v From
January to December 2011, reported show that 140 persons died in custody. Among
them, 105 persons died in jail. Among those, 91 persons allegedly died due to
‘sickness’; two reportedly committed suicide, two infants died in jail. One
personwho was reportedly injured at the time of his arrest also died in jail.
Nine personsdied in different jails due to reasons unknown.
v During
this time one woman reportedly ‘committed suicide’ while in Potenga Police Station
in Chittagong and two persons died while under the custody of police
inChittagong and Dhaka districts.
v 26
persons were allegedly killed extra judicially while in custody of RAB, police
and the jailauthority. Six former BDR soldiers also died during this time while
in custody.
Public Lynching
v On
July 17, 2011 local residents of Barodeshi village of Aminbazar on the
outskirts ofDhaka, killed six students on suspicion of being robbers. The
deceased were –Ibrahim Khalil (24), Touhidur Rahman Polash (20), Kamruzzaman
Kanto (18),students of Mirpur Bangla College; SetabZabirManib (22), student of
BangladeshUniversity of Business and Technology; Shams Rahim Shammam (20),
A-Level student of Mastermind International School and College; and Tipu Sultan
(20),student of Tejgaon College. The lone survivor, Al Amin, a student of
DarussalamCollege was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition. It was
learnt that thestudents had gone to Amin Bazar together on rickshaws after
offering prayers on the night of Shab-e-Barat[22],
to spend the night roaming the area. Local residents, seeingunknown people in
the area so late, thought the young men were dacoits and alsoannounced the
arrival of dacoits through the megaphone of a local mosque. Hearingthis,
hundreds of people came to the spot and surrounded the students and
attackedthem. Some people beat them with iron rods, sticks and stabbed them with
sharpweapons in front of the Savar police.[23]
The area where the incident took place wasknown to be a crime zone. It was
learnt that drugs including Ganja, Phensidyle and Yabaare
allegedly sold in the area. The villagers used to guard the village as the lawand
order situation was bad. Meanwhile, police have been insisting that the
students, had gone to Keblarchar to commit robbery. The owner of Shahadat
Enterprise, Abdul Malik filed a robbery case on July 18, 2011 with the local
police station. [24]Two
persons named Sanowar Hossain and Mohammad Selim Mridha were arrested for being
involved in the lynching of the six students.[25]
On July 21, 2011, a four memberinquiry committee, headed by Additional
Inspector General of Police, Mohammad Amir Uddin, was formed. Mohammad Amir
Uddin submitted the investigation report to the IGP Hasan Mahmud Khandker on
September 18, 2011 and also briefed thejournalists about the findings. He said
that police were found to be negligent andirresponsible in performing their
duty.[26]
The Officer-in-Charge of Savar Police Station was ‘closed’ and two Sub
Inspectors were temporarily suspended in thisregard. No evidence of involvement
in any criminal activity in that area was found against the six students.
An over view of 2012s extra judicial
killing:
Extrajudicial
killings continue, despite repeated assurances by theGovernment to end this, at
various forums including the Universal PeriodicReview (UPR) Session of the UN
Human Rights Council. During the periodof January - March 2012, according to
information gathered by Odhikar, 31persons were killed extra-judicially by law
enforcement agencies.
Crossfire/encounter/gun fight:
Among the 31
persons extra judicially killed, 26 were killed in ‘crossfire/encounters/ gun
fights’. Among the deceased, 17 were allegedly killed bythe Rapid Action
Battalion (RAB), three by the police, two jointly by RABpolice,four jointly by
RAB-Coast Guard.[27]
Death due to torture:
During the
three months (January-March) 2012, three persons wereallegedly tortured to
death. Among the deceased two were torturedallegedly by the police and one by
jail authorities.
Shot to death:
Among the
deceased, two persons were shot to death during this period.Of them one by
police and one by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
Torture in custody
During January
– March 2012, as per Odhikar’s documentation, 18 persons were reportedly
tortured by different law enforcement agencies. Amongthem 15 persons were
allegedly tortured, but did not succumb to theirinjuries. Of them nine were
tortured by police, five by RAB-Police and oneby jail authorities. Three
persons were allegedly tortured to death1. Someinstances of torture are as
follows:
This has been mentioned in the previous section on ‘Extra‐judicial killings’.
. In a press conference
at the Dhaka Crime Reporters Association on March10, 2012, Halima Rahman,
mother of army officer Lt. Col. Hasinur Rahman, requested the Prime Minister to
release her son, detained in Army custody.Halima Rahman told the press
conference that her son had been detainedwithout any charge and tortured in
custody. He was treated at the CoronaryCare Unit of the Combined Military
Hospital. Charges and witnessesagainst Lt. Col. Hasinur Rahman could not be
produced even after sixmonths of his arrest. Halima Rahman stated that on July
9, 2011, Brigadier General Mostafa called her son over telephone for some
urgent officialwork. The next day the family contacted the Army Headquarters
and theDGFI2 office to find the whereabouts of Hasinur Rahman.3 Later on March25,
2012, according to a report published in the daily Prothom Alo, Lt. Col. Hasinur
Rahman was sentenced to 4 years and 3 months imprisonment bythe Army Court for
being involved in undisciplined activities. However, thewife of Lt. Col.
Hasinur Rahman, Shamima Akhter, alleged that the familydid not know anything
about this judgment asthe Army authority did notinform them. They came to know
on March 22, when Lt. Col. Hasinur Rahman informed her over telephone.4
On February
29, 2012, at around 8.00 pm, Mohammad Abdur Rahim Sheikh(60) of
SahapurMistripara village under Badarganj Municipality in Rangpurdistrict was
allegedly tortured by police of the Badarganj Police Station.Later police
produced Mohammad Abdur Rahim Sheikh to a mobile courtand the court sentenced
him one year imprisonment for taking drugs. OnmMarch 2, 2012 at around 1.50 pm,
Mohammad Abdur Rahim Sheikh died inthe Intensive Care Unit of Rangpur Medical
College Hospital where he wasunder treatment. The family of the deceased
alleged that the police severely tortured him after the arrest and as a result
he died.5[28]
Recommendation:
Extra judicial killing is violated
ones fundamental human rights. In Bangladesh extra judicial killing should stop
for national human rights concern and for maintenance of law and order. In 21stcentury
any civilized nation should stop this type of crime as for Bangladesh, in some
cases I support extra judicial killing as in the case of some official
Ø Shorten the process of judiciary
Ø Independent of judiciary
Ø To Stronger the law enforcement
agency
Ø Political good will needed
Ø Better training for law enforcing
agency
Ø Given punishment for crime of LEA
members
Ø As guardian of constitution the
president should more honorable
Ø Political use of LEA should
prohibited
Conclusion :
Extra
judicial killing is the violation of human rights & for this reason it prohibited. From 26th march
2044 to October 2009 there 1600 people were killed extra judicially. To ensure
the constitutional right as right to life, liberty and conscience of life extra
judicial killing is one major impediment. In November 2007 we get an
independent judiciary, but real scenario is different. So all the problems
should resolve and thus can build a legitimate judiciary process and make
Bangladesh happier.
[1]
.www.wikipedia.com
[2]
www.lawers&jurists.com.
[3]
. home ministry of bangladesh
[4]
.www.wikipedia.com/bd constitution
[5]
.www.ask.org.
[6]
The daily Ittefaq, 27/01/2011,
http://ittefaq.com.bd/content/2011/01/27/news0254.htm
[7]
The daily New Age, 01/02/2011 and The
Daily Star, 05/02/2011, http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/newsdetails.
php?nid=172899
[8]
The daily New Age, 01/02/2011
[9]
The daily New Age, 05/02/2011 and The
daily Amar Desh 4/2/2011
[10]
.www.odhikar.com
[11]
.www.odhikar.com
[13]
Fact finding report of Odhikar/ the daily
Manabzamin, 12/01/2011
[14]
The daily New Age, 04/02/2011; The daily
Amar Desh 4/2/2011,
http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/02/04/66532
[15]
The daily Amar Desh, 05/02/2011 and The
daily New Age 5/02/2011
[16]
Ibid
[17]
Fact‐finding report of Odhikar‐
www.odhikar.org/FF_report.html
[18]
The daily Prothom Alo, 13/08/2011,
http://www.prothom‐alo.com/detail/date/2011‐08‐13/news/177793
[19]
Iftar‐ the meal that breaks the fast at
sunset during Ramadan
[20]
The daily Amader Shomoy, 15/08/2011,
http://www.amadershomoy1.com/content/2011/08/15/news0500.htm
[22]
A special religious night in Islam
[23]
The daily Jugantor, 19/07/2011
[24]
Ibid
[25]
The daily Kaler Kontho,26/07/2011
[26]
The daily Amar Desh, 19/09/2011;
http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/09/19/106311
[27]
www.odhikar.com
[28]
www.blast.com
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