Bangladesh Country of Origin Information (COI) Report COI Service

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Bangladesh Country of Origin Information (COI) Report COI Service Bangladesh Country of Origin Information (COI) Report COI Service Date 31 August 2013 Bangladesh 31 August 2013 Contents Go to End Preface Background Information 1. Geography ................................................................................................................... 1.01 Public holidays ................................................................................................... 1.07 Map of Bangladesh ............................................................................................... 1.08 Other maps of Bangladesh ................................................................................. 1.09 2. Economy ...................................................................................................................... 2.01 3. History .......................................................................................................................... 3.01 Pre-independence: 1905- 1971 ............................................................................ 3.01 Post-independence: 1972 - 2012 ....................................................................... 3.03 General Election of 29 December 2008 ............................................................... 3.08 Political parties which contested the general election ........................................ 3.09 Results of the general election ........................................................................... 3.10 Post-election violence ........................................................................................ 3.11 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny ......................................................................... 3.12 War crimes committed in 1971 ............................................................................ 3.17 Trial of murderers of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ........................ 3.19 War crimes tribunal .............................................................................................. 3.23 4. Recent developments: January to July 2013 .......................................................... 4.01 Shabagh square.................................................................................................... 4.02 5. Constitution ................................................................................................................. 5.01 6. Political system ........................................................................................................... 6.01 Structure of the Parliament ................................................................................. 6.01 Caretaker Government ......................................................................................... 6.04 Supervision of elections ...................................................................................... 6.05 Bangladesh Election Commission ...................................................................... 6.05 Local government ................................................................................................. 6.12 Human Rights 7. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 7.01 8. Security forces ............................................................................................................ 8.01 Police and paramilitary forces ............................................................................ 8.02 Bangladesh Police.............................................................................................. 8.03 Border Guards of Bangladesh ............................................................................ 8.04 Rapid Action Battalion ........................................................................................ 8.05 Bangladesh Ansar/Village Defence Party ........................................................... 8.06 Police Reform Programme ................................................................................. 8.07 Armed forces ........................................................................................................ 8.12 Other government forces ..................................................................................... 8.14 Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) ............................................. 8.14 Human rights violations by the security forces ................................................. 8.15 Arbitrary arrest and detention ............................................................................. 8.15 Torture ................................................................................................................ 8.18 ii The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 31 July 2013. 31 August 2013 Bangladesh Extra-judicial killings ........................................................................................... 8.21 Corruption in the law enforcement agencies ...................................................... 8.25 Avenues of complaint .......................................................................................... 8.28 Accountability and impunity ................................................................................ 8.30 9. Military service ............................................................................................................ 9.01 10. Abuses by non-government armed forces ............................................................. 10.01 11. Judiciary .................................................................................................................... 11.01 Organisation ......................................................................................................... 11.05 Informal systems of justice: Village Courts and Shalish ..................................... 11.10 Independence ....................................................................................................... 11.14 ‘Politically-motivated’ cases ................................................................................ 11.17 Presidential clemency for criminals .................................................................... 11.18 Fair trial ................................................................................................................. 11.19 Legal Aid ............................................................................................................ 11.21 Corruption in the Judiciary .................................................................................. 11.24 12. Arrest and detention – legal rights .......................................................................... 12.01 Pre-trial detention ................................................................................................. 12.01 ‘Cognizable’ and ‘non-cognizable’ offences ....................................................... 12.02 Preventive detention and its legislative framework .......................................... 12.03 Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) ....................................... 12.04 The Special Powers Act (SPA) ........................................................................... 12.06 Bail ......................................................................................................................... 12.08 13. Prison conditions ...................................................................................................... 13.01 14. Death penalty ............................................................................................................ 14.01 15. Political affiliation ..................................................................................................... 15.01 Freedom of political expression .......................................................................... 15.01 Freedom of association and assembly ............................................................... 15.04 Opposition groups and political activists .......................................................... 15.06 Political violence ................................................................................................. 15.06 Student political groups and violence ................................................................ 15.08 16. Freedom of speech and media ................................................................................ 16.01 Journalists ............................................................................................................ 16.09 17. Human rights institutions, organisations and activists ......................................... 17.01 National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) .................................................... 17.03 Treatment of human rights NGOs ....................................................................... 17.07 18. Corruption ................................................................................................................. 18.01 Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) ................................................................... 18.03 High-profile arrests on corruption and other charges ...................................... 18.06 19. Freedom of religion ................................................................................................... 19.01 Religious demography ......................................................................................... 19.01 Family law ............................................................................................................
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