an Urgent Letter redirected to you from one of our readers

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>From: "ACPP-Hotline Asia"
>To:
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>Subject: Urgent Appeals (3):
>BANGLADESH
>Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:46:10 +0800
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>HOTLINE ASIA
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>URGENT APPEALS
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>UA070628(3)
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>STOP EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS,
>TORTURES AND ARBITRARY ARRESTS - BANGLADESH
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>28 June
>2007
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>SUMMARY
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>Since the taking over of the interim government and the declaration
>of the state of emergency in January 2007, there were nearly 100
>extra-judicial killings and thousands of arbitrary arrests allegedly
>committed by the interim government in the name of anti-crime or
>anti-corruption actions. Victims range from activists, political
>party members and journalists.
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>On 10 June 2007, the European Union ambassador Andreas Michaelis,
>the head of a European Union rights team expressed the union concern
over
>the alarming situation when the delegation ended its four-day visit to the
>country. In his statement, he stated that "it is vital that human
>rights violations are vigorously investigated and adequately punished,"
>stressing that "respect of human rights gains particular importance during
>a state of emergency."
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>Local organizations, together with other international human rights
>organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have
>alerted the society with cases of extra-judicial killings, tortures and
>arbitrary arrests. Local source revealed that although several
>legal cases have been brought against the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an
>elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism force, for most of which there were
>witnesses, none of these cases have ever been brought to trial, but
>are being kept on the back burner.
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>According to local sources, 2 rights activists, namely Shahidul
>Islam, the Director of the development and rights non-governmental
>organization ttaran? and Ranglai Murong, elected chairman of Ujanipara
>under Sualok Union Council, have been tortured and detained since January
>2007. There is no further information about their safety, but with
>the alarming case of Mr. Cholesh Richil, who was tortured to death in
March
>2007, the local source is concerned with the personal safety of these 2
>individuals.
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>
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>*** Please respond before 31 August
>2007***
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>ACTION REQUESTED
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>Reiterate the state obligation on human rights violations as
>stated by the European Union rights team by writing letters to request the
>Bangladesh government to:
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>?nbsp;
>Ensure immediate release of Shahiudal Islam and Ranglai Murong and other
>arbitrarily detained people.
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>?nbsp;
>Conduct an impartial inquiry into cases of extra-judicial killings,
>tortures and arbitrary arrests and publicize the results of
>investigations.
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>?nbsp;
>Prosecute people responsible for extra-judicial killings, tortures and
>arbitrary arrest in the spirit of justice.
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>Send letters or faxes
>to:
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>Mr. Mainul Hossain
>
>Advisor of Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary
>Affairs
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>Government of the People's Republic of
>Bangladesh
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>Office of the Chief Advisor
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>Tejgaon, Dhaka
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>BANGLADESH
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>Fax: +880 2 8113243 or 8111490
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>Send copies
>to:
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>1. Dr. Fakhruddin
>Ahmed
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>Chief Adviser
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>Government of the People's
>Republic of Bangladesh
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>Office of the Chief
>Advisor
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>Tejgaon, Dhaka
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>BANGLADESH
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>Fax: +880 2 8113243 or
>8111490
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>2. Mr. Nur
>Mohammad
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>Inspector General of Police
>(IGP)
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>Bangladesh
>Police
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>Police
>Headquarters
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>Fulbaria,
>Dhaka-1000
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>BANGLADESH
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>3. Professor Manfred
>Nowak
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>Special Rapporteur on the
>Question of Torture
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>Attn: Mr. Safir
>Syed
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>c/o
>OHCHR-UNOG
>
>1211 Geneva
>10
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>SWITZERLAND

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>4 Diplomatic representatives of
>Bangladesh in your country.
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>SAMPLE LETTER
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>***Please avoid typing 'cc ACPP' at any part of your letter but send
>copies to us separately for monitoring purpose***
>
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>We are writing to express our grave concern for the rampant cases of
>extra-judicial killings, tortures and arbitrary arrests in Bangladesh
since
>the taking over by the caretaker government. According to
>various reports, nearly 100 extra-judicial killings and thousands of
>arbitrary arrests allegedly committed by the armed forces and law
>enforcement agencies have taken place. We also like to bring your
>attention to 2 arrested rights activists and human rights defenders,
>Ranglai Murong and Shahidul Islam who were both arrested in January and
>tortured in detention in Banderban and Satkhira
>respectively.
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>
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>While your government determination to reduce greatly the level of
>crimes and corruption is much appreciated, we also share the grave concern
>of the European Union rights team on the flagrant violation of human
>rights. We humbly remind you of the fact that Bangladesh has acceded
>to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and
the
>Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
>or Punishment (CAT): article 9 of ICCPR states that o one shall be
>subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention? article 2 of CAT states that 

>o exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat
>of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may
>be invoked as a justification of torture.?/SPAN>
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>We appreciate the government response to the death of Cholesh
>Richil by calling for exhumation of the body and investigation by a
>one-member impartial committee. Therefore, we further hope that the
>government will kindly consider these requests:
>
>
>
>?nbsp;
>Ensure immediate release of Shahiudal Islam and Ranglai Murong and other
>arbitrarily detained people.
>
>?nbsp;
>Conduct an impartial inquiry into cases of extra-judicial killings,
>tortures and arbitrary arrests and publicize the results of
investigations.
>(It is noted that none of the departmental investigations carried out are
>brought to public notice.)
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>?nbsp;
>Prosecute people responsible for extra-judicial killings, tortures and
>arbitrary arrest in the spirit of justice.
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>***Thank You for Your Continued Support***
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>BACKGROUND
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>The recent upsurge in reported
>extrajudicial killings by security forces began on 11 January 2007, when
>the first caretaker government head proclaimed a state of emergency and
>resigned. After weeks of violent protests, elections originally set
>for 22 January were indefinitely postponed and a new civilian caretaker
>government, backed by the army, sworn in. Since t he country is in
>the state of emergency, political rallies and other political activities
>were banned.
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>
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>According to the Human Rights
>Watch, the killings have been attributed to members of the army, the
>police, and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite anti-crime and
>anti-terrorism force.
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>Under the state of emergency,
>the military has arrested thousands of people on allegations of corruption
>and other crimes, but many have been denied their right to due process.
>Some have been tortured. There have also been attempts by the
>authorities to control the media, with editors being privately summoned to
>impose self censorship.
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>Cholesh Richil
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>His death is a prominent case
>that still haunts the country.
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>Mr. Richil, an outspoken leader
>of the Garo indigenous community is reported to have died in custody on 18
>March 2007, following torture carried out by the Joint Forces (army and
>police) personnel. Since 2003 Garo activists have been campaigning
>against the construction of an "eco-park" on their ancestral land on the
>grounds that it would deprive them of their land and means of livelihood.
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>According to credible reports
>documented by local human rights groups, Cholesh Richil was arrested by
>Joint Forces personnel on 18 March 2007 and taken to Modhupur Kakraidh
>temporary army camp, north of the capital Dhaka. He was arrested
>under the pretext of possessing illegal weapon. However no weapons
>were found with him and observers suspect that the real motive behind his
>arrest was his active involvement in the campaign against the
>"eco-park".
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>After Cholesh Richil body was
>handed over to the Garo community church on 19 March, his family observed
>multiple bruises, nails missing from his fingers and toes, and cuts and
>scratches consistent with blade wounds. His testicles had reportedly
>been removed.
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>On 6 May 2007, Bangladeshi
>newspapers reported the formation of a one-member judicial commission to
>investigate the death of Cholesh Richil. His body was exhumed.
>In the past such commissions have been formed in response to public
outrage
>about instances of human rights violations.
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>Shahidul
>Islam
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>He is the Executive Director of
>Uttaran, a non-governmental organization working for the social and
>economic empowerment of the poor and disadvantaged communities in the
>western districts of Khula, Satkhira, Tala. He was arrested from his
>training center and taken into custody on 27 January 2007.
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>Uttaran staff members later
>reported that they heard Shahidul being beaten inside the a temporary army
>camp near the Tala B. Dey Boy School in Satkhira District. Several
>days later when Shahidul Islam was allowed visitors, he was found to be
>severely beaten on the legs and back and his leg broken, as he was accused
>of possessing illegal weapons. He was later sent to Satkhira Sadar
>Hospital for treatment and returned to Satkhira District Jail where he
>remains to date.
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>Ranglai Murong
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>A notable and committed elected
>chairman of Ujanipara under Sualok Union Council, Ranglai Murong who has
>received an award for his service to the indigenous people, was arrested
on
>23 January 2007 allegedly by members of the Joint Forces.
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>On 23 February 2007, Ranglai
>relatives were informed that he was critically injured and was at the
>Banderban Sadar hospital. One of the relatives, after visiting him,
>found he was unconscious and was being given oxygen. His arms and
>feet were in chains and 2 army members and 2 policemen were guarding him.
>His uncle, Sakrone Murong was permitted to take care of Ranglai for
a
>week since 24 February in the hospital. Sakrone testified that
Ranglai
> back was all bruised, his chest was brutally hit and he could not move
>from one side to another and could not speak at all for more than a week.
>He was later transferred to the Banderban jail hospital and was
>reported to be still in the hospital as of 17 May 2007.
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>SOURCES
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>Amnesty
>International
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>Human Rights Watch
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>The EUbusiness
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>The Daily Star
>(Bangladesh)
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>Asian Human Rights
>Commission
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>UN Office of High Commissioner
>for Human Rights
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>Local source
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>Yours faithfully,
>
>Linda Noche
>
>Coordinator
>
>
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>Thank You for Your Continued Support.
>
>
>
>Hotline is a service for Justice and Peace irrespective of class,
>race, religion, culture and political affiliation. We issue "Urgent
>appeals" (UAs) on request from our network. As you receive UAs free,
>we welcome contributions payable to: Asian Center for the Progress of
>Peoples Ltd.
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>----------------------------------------------------------------------------

>
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>Hotline Asia gratefully acknowledges the support of AMA, Cordaid,
>Misereor, One Body One Spirit Movement and Taiwan Foundation for
>Democracy.
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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>Asian Center for
>the Progress of Peoples
>
>1/F, 52, Princess Margaret Road
>
>Kowloon, Hong Kong
>
>Phone: 852 - 2714 5123
>
>Fax: 852 - 2712 0152
>
>Website: www.acpp.org
>
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