NEWS:Warrants issued for arrest of four policemen

Staff Correspondent 

A Dhaka court on Wednesday issued warrants for arrest of four police officers, including former Ramna police officer-in-charge Mahbubur Rahman, in connection with torturing a Chhatra League leader in custody to force ‘false admission’ in the case of attempt on the life of Dhaka University teacher Humayun Azad in 2004.

Metropolitan magistrate Mehedi Hasan Talukder passed the order after hearing an investigation report on a complaint filed with the Dhaka chief metropolitan magistrate’s court on March 5, 2008 by Chhatra League leader Abu Abbas Bhuiyan accusing former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and the four policemen of torturing him in custody to force ‘false admission.’

রমনা থানার সাবেক ওসি সহ চার পুলিশের বিরুদ্ধে গ্রেফতারী পরোয়ানা "

রিমান্ডে নিয়ে স্বীকারোক্তি আদায়ের নামে নির্মম নির্যাতনের অভিযোগে রমনা থানার সাবেক ওসি মাহবুবুর রহমান, এস আই নাসের আলী, এস আই রেজাউল করিম ও সার্জেন্ট আনোয়ারের বিরুদ্ধে আজ গ্রেফতারী পরোয়ানা জারী হয়েছে। মহানগর হাকিম জনাব মেহেদি হাসান তালুকদার ঢাকা মহানগর গোয়েন্দা পুলিশ কর্তিক প্রদত্ত তদন্ত রিপোর্টের ভিত্তিতে মামলাটি আমলে নিয়ে এই আদেশ প্রদান করেন।

মামলার অভিযোগে জানা যায়, গত ২৭ ফেব্রয়ারী ২০০৪ ইং তারিখে  ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের বাংলা বিভাগের সম্মানিত শিক্ষক ডঃ হুমায়ূন আজাদের উপর সন্ত্রাসীদের হামলার প্রতিবাদে  গত ২৮ ফেব্রুয়ারী ২০০৪ ইং তারিখে ঢাকা বিশ্ব বিদ্যালয়ের সাধারণ ছাত্র-ছাত্রীদের ব্যানারে অনুষ্ঠিত মিছিল হতে ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে রাষ্ট্রবিজ্ঞান বিভাগের ছাত্র ও বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ কেন্দ্রীয় নির্বাহী সংসদের গণশিক্ষা বিষয়ক সম্পাদক মোঃ আবু আব্বাস ভুঁইয়াকে গ্রেফতার করে রমনা থানা্য় আটকনির্মম নির্যাতন করে। পরবর্তীতে ডঃ হুমায়ূন আজাদের উপর সন্ত্রাসী হামলা্য় মিথ্যেভাবে জড়িত করে ৫ দিনের রিমান্ডে নিয়ে স্বীকারোক্তি আদায়ের নামে গত ০২ মার্চ ২০০৪ তারিখ পর্যন্ত রমনা থানার তৎকালীন ভারপ্রাপ্ত কর্মকর্তা মাহবুবুর রহমানসহ উল্লেখিত পুলিশ সদস্যগন অমানবিক নির্যাতন করে তার বাম হাতের মধ্যাঙ্গুল ভেঙ্গে ফেলে। পরবর্তীতে তার অবস্থা খুব বেশী খারাপ হলে জেল হাজতে প্রেরণ করেন।

NEWS: NHRC asks govt to probe youth’s killing by BDR

Staff Correspondent

The National Human Rights Commission has asked the home ministry investigate the killing of a youth by the Bangladesh Rifles in Lalmonirhat on August 18.

The ministry was also asked to report to the commission by October 3 after inquiring the complaint filed by Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights on the basis of newspaper reports on the killing.

Bangladesh: Monthly Human Rights Report (August 2010) by GHRD

Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) Monthly Human Rights Report Bangladesh, August 2010 Introduction This month GHRD investigated human rights violations concerning police negligence, murder, looting and land grabbing, bribery and two religiously motivated attacks against minorities. Land grabbers attacked a 300-year old Hindu temple in Sutrapur, evicting 11 Hindu families. GHRD also investigated an attack against an Ahmediyya community in the Tangail District, alleged to have been agitated by the local Islamic extremist group Imam Parishad. The attacks received a lot of attention both by media and local human rights groups. On a positive note, the Office of the Prime Minister demanded the Home Ministry to ensure that a full investigation will be carried out into one of the kidnapping cases investigated by GHRD/BIHR in June. GHRD and BIHR welcome the initiative and will continue to monitor the implementation.

URGENT APPEAL:Bangladesh: Religiously motivated attack against a Hindu temple

The Hague, The Netherlands

URGENT APPEAL:Bangladesh: Religiously motivated attack against a Hindu temple.

                                                                                     

ISSUES:  Minority rights, physical assault, forced eviction, threats, religious destruction, police negligence, corruption.

Dear Friends,

Between the 19^th- 21^st of August 2010 GHRD Dhaka together with Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) investigated the attack against a Hindu temple at the Sutapur District. 11 families were forcefully evicted and another 20 families were threatened to leave their home immediately. One woman, Eva Ghosh was dragged by her hair.

General condition of the prisons in Bangladesh

SAIKOT SHAHANUR ISLAM

The prisoners of 56 prisons among 67 around the Bangladesh are deprived from health care and medical facility due to the absence of prison hospital. There is no availability of ambulance services. So, the severe patients of prisons are taken to the general hospital by the prison van for their treatment. The treatment activates have been closed due to lack of manpower and doctor of which 11 prisons using the hospital. There are 11 prisons using the hospital amongst 67 prisons around the country, but there are not enough doctors and manpower to provide service to the ill prisoners. The conditions of the sick prisoners are being deteriorated due to lack of clean water supply and proper sanitation. There are only 16 doctors for about one lac sick prisoner all over the country as well as no specialist amongst them. The treatment services for the sick prisoners are being hampered due to the lack prisons hospital availability in the 56 prisons. 

URGENT APPEAL: demands to rehabilitate them as well as make a credible investigation to bring the allege perpetrators before justice

BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMME

URGENT APPEAL CASE: BIHR-IAU-30-08-10

DATE: August 30, 2010

Type of Violation: Right to shelter, religious activity, security, and personal integrity

Dear Friends

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights has been received a fact finding investigation report conducted by it high level investigation team from August 19-21, 2010 regarding some influential people of old Dhaka attempted to grab the old Hindu buildings including the temple, evicted some of the residing members, destroyed the temple and residences, looted the valuable statue of temple and property of the residing people as well as severely beat the males and molested the females. The victim urged the concerned police station to protect them, initially the police authority did not come to protect them. Though the victims demand to rehabilitate them as well as make a credible investigation to bring the allege perpetrators before justice, yet no proper action has been taken by the concern authority.

Appeal to US Secretary of State

Your Excellency Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State

Washington DC, United States 

Dear Madam Secretary,

The verdict announced by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, rejecting the designation of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) as a terrorist group by the former Secretary of State, is a tremendous transition in the path of ending a great injustice which is harming the Iranian people and the residents of Camp Ashraf who are affiliated with the PMOI. We are confident that you will implement the Court of Appeals’ ruling and by delisting the PMOI from the List of FTO, make a great contribution to democracy in Iran and peace and stability in the region. 

The PMOI designation is not only used in the path of violating the rights of the members and supporters of the PMOI as the democratic opposition of the Iranian regime. It has also been exploited to justify the execution of their members and supporters inside Iran, and during the past seven years, this label has been a tool to suppress the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. 

The recent US Court of Appeals’ ruling has paved the road for you to correct the mistakes made. 

There is no need to say that justice should not be conditioned to political considerations, and the interests of nations and free governments rests in observing democracy and the law. We hope that by ridding the injustice done to the PMOI, you will put an end to our grave worries. 

Yours Sincerely,

Adv. Shahanur Islam Saikot 

LL.B (Hon's); LL.M (Law & Justice)

JusticeMakers Fellow 2010 

Secretary General/Executive Director

Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR)

Flat # B-17, 27, Bijoy Nagar, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh 

Email: saikotbihr@gmail.com, bihr.bd@gmail.com 

Cell: + 88 017 20308080, Ph: +88 02 9349851 

Fax: + 88 028352166, www.bihr-bihr.blogspot.com

URGENT APPEAL:Seeking justice through the proper investigation of the incident of beating by Parliament Member

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URGENT APPEAL:Seeking justice through the proper investigation of the incident of killing due to torture byBDR

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Letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Regarding the Harassment of Apparel Industry Demonstrators and Union Leaders

August 10, 2010

We are seeking your immediate intervention to stop the serious harassment of trade union leaders and other labor rights activists and workers in the ready-made garment (RMG) industry who have been pressing for the right of workers to organize in unions and seeking increases in Bangladesh's minimum wage regulations.

On July 29, 2010, after tripartite negotiations with government, workers, and employers, the government raised the daily minimum wage from 1662 taka to 3000 taka. However, the action angered workers who claimed the increase is less than the amount needed to meet the rising cost of living for urban-based workers and fell far short of the increase that the workers, trade unionists, and NGO activists were demanding. As has occurred numerous times in the history of Bangladesh's RMG industry, on July 30 and 31, worker anger and frustration boiled over into the streets, with roads being blocked, vandalism and attacks against factories and properties taking place, and use of force by police and security forces that resulted in scores of injuries among protesting workers. Human Rights Watch condemns instances of violence by the protesters as well as incidents where security forces may have used excessive force to quell the protests.

HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT: Bangladesh: Monthly Human Rights Report (July 2010) by GHRD

Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) Monthly Human Rights Report Bangladesh, July 2010 GHRD is very concerned about the high number of attacks against religious minorities this month in Bangladesh, especially against Hindus. During July GHRD has investigated three cases involving attacks and assaults against Hindu victims. In addition to this local newspapers have also reported about several similar incidents. This month report also contains information about CHT. According to news reports several NGOs in the region are under the surveillance of the government. Additionally, the Chittagong Hills Tracts Commission recently sent out a memorandum to the Prime Minister regarding their concern about the attacks taking place in February of this year. Other updates from this month include a verdict made by the High Court that will declare extrajudicial punishments, such as fatwa, illegal. Additionally, following the High Court’s verdict in 2005 regarding the scrapping of the fifth amendment of the Bangladeshi constitution, the government are now preparing a draft to amend the Bangladeshi constitution in order to restore a constitutional spirit of "secularism" and "democracy”.

The State of Human Rights for the Month of July 2010

Ref: BIHR/HRR/07/08/2010                                                                Date: 02.08.10

The Law enforcing agencies is still continuing the extra judicial killing, torture and harassment, though the government has come to power promising to promote and protect human right in Bangladesh

(The State of Human Rights for the Month of July 2010)

The Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation registered with the Department of Social Welfare, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh based on the United Nation Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) dedicated to promote and protect human rights in Bangladesh. BIHR publishes its state of Human Rights for the period of July 01 to July 31, 2010. The report was prepared by the research and documentation cell of BIHR on the basis of report published on 12 national news papers from July 02 to August 01, 2010, fact-finding mission and its direct sources. BIHR is resents and is deeply concerned over the continuing human rights violations in Bangladesh despite the promises to promote human rights, especially in regards to Extra-judicial Killing, torture, political violence, death due to negligence of doctor, rape, eve teasing and molestation, minority repression as well as violence against journalist and human rights defender. Adv. Shahanur Islam, the Secretary General of BIHR asks the Government to take prompt and effective measures ensuring and end to all kinds of violations as well as demands to investigate and bring the alleged perpetrations before the book, forming a special commission.

Order issued by the National Human Rights Commission allegation recieved from BIHR Regarding to death under police custody at B Baria

Committee formed by Home Ministry to investigate the incident of killing under custody of Shahbag Police Station

URGENT APPEAL: Bangladesh: Rape victim imprisoned in the name of ‘safe custody’ for a week [UA-BA-01.07.2010]

The Hague, The Netherlands URGENT APPEAL: Bangladesh: Rape victim imprisoned in the name of ‘safe custody’ for a week [UA-BA-01.07.2010] ISSUES: Kidnapping, rape, lack of appropriate health services, arbitrary detention. Dear Friends, Between the 23rd of June until the 26th of June 2010 Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights together with GHRD investigated the abduction and rape of a 24 year old woman. After the woman was recovered she was imprisoned at the Rangpur Central Jail for eight days, in the name of ‘safe custody’.

Innitiative taken by the office of the Civil Surgeon after reciving Urgent Appeal issued by BIHR