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Cycle of Fear Combating Impunity for Torture and Strengthening the Rule of Law in Bangladesh

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Cycle of Fear Combating Impunity for Torture and Strengthening the Rule of Law in Bangladesh CYCLE OF FEAR COMBATING IMPUNITY FOR TORTURE AND STRENGTHENING THE RULE OF LAW IN BANGLADESH July 2019 Cycle of Fear Combating Impunity for Torture and Strengthening the Rule of Law in Bangladesh List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ 3 About the Authors ............................................................................................................................... 4 I. Executive Summary – From recognition to cure: the need for setting a rule of law agenda .................................................................................................................................................. 5 1. The problem of torture in Bangladesh .................................................................................... 5 2. Ten step anti-torture and rule of law agenda for Bangladesh ................................................. 8 3. ReCommendations to the international Community ................................................................ 9 II. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 10 III. Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 10 IV. Legal Framework .................................................................................................................... 11 1. International Anti-Torture Legal Framework ....................................................................... 11 2. DomestiC Legal Framework to Combat and Prevent Torture ............................................... 13 a. Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) ACt 2013 ..................................................................... 13 b. Court DireCtives to Prevent Torture in Custody ............................................................................. 15 c. PoliCe Regulations and Laws ......................................................................................................... 17 V. Historical and political background – root causes of torture in Bangladesh ..................... 18 1. IndependenCe of Bangladesh ................................................................................................ 18 2. Instability and Power Struggles between 1972 and 2011 ..................................................... 19 3. Political Conflict since 2011 and Human Rights Violations ................................................ 21 4. National SeCurity and Acts of Extremism ............................................................................. 21 VI. Trends and Patterns of Torture and Ill-treatment ............................................................... 22 1. Torture and Other forms of Ill-treatment in Custody and at Arrest ...................................... 23 a. Death Due to Torture ...................................................................................................................... 25 b. JudiCial remand ............................................................................................................................... 26 c. Ill Treatment due to Poor Prison Conditions .................................................................................. 27 2. Torture and Ill-Treatment by the Rapid Action Battalion ..................................................... 27 VII. Impediment to Accountability and Causes for Impunity .................................................... 33 1. Structural reasons for the persistence of torture in Bangladesh ............................................ 35 a. Corruption and Integrity of the JudiCiary and Law EnforCement .................................................. 35 b. Confession as the Gold Standard of EvidenCe ............................................................................... 37 c. LaCk of Independent Investigation and Complaint MeChanisms ................................................... 39 d. Reprisals and LaCk of ViCtim and Witness ProteCtion ................................................................... 41 e. LaCk of Redress and Reparation ..................................................................................................... 42 2. Instable political situation fosters the use of torture ............................................................. 43 a. Suppression of Opposition and Partisan Law EnforCement ........................................................... 43 1 b. Trade-offs Between Government and Rapid Action Battalion ...................................................... 45 c. Counter Terrorism Operations ........................................................................................................ 46 d. CraCk Down of Civil SoCiety and the Media ................................................................................. 47 3. EnaCtment of repressive laws ................................................................................................ 49 a. SpeCial Powers ACt of 1974 ........................................................................................................... 49 b. Information and Communication TeChnology ACt of 2006 ........................................................... 51 c. Anti-Terrorism ACt of 2009 ........................................................................................................... 51 d. Foreign Donation (Voluntary ACtivities) Regulation ACt of 2016 ................................................. 52 VIII. Conclusion and Recommendations ........................................................................................ 53 a. Ten step anti-torture and rule of law agenda for Bangladesh ......................................................... 54 b. ReCommendations to the international Community ........................................................................ 57 IX. Appendice ................................................................................................................................. 59 2 List of abbreviations ASK – Ain o Salish Kendra (organisation) ATA – Anti-Terrorism Act BDR – Bangladesh Rifles BGB – Border Guard Bangladesh BLAST – Bangladesh Legal Aid and ServiCes Trust BNP – Bangladesh Nationalist Party CAT – Comittee Against Torture CID - Criminal Investigation Department DB – DeteCtive BranCh DSB – DistriCt SpeCial BranCh ECOSOC – United Nations EconomiC and Social Council FIDH – Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICT – Information and Communication TeChnology (ACt) JI – Jamaat-e-Islami JMB – Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh LGRD – (Ministry) of LoCal Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives MP – Member of Parliament NGO – Non-Governmental Organisation NHRC – National Human Rights Commission OMCT - World Organisation Against Torture (Organisation Mondiale contre la Torture in French) RAB – Rapid Action Battalion SB – Special Branch UN – United Nations 3 About the Authors This is a joint report written and published in July 2019 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Odhikar. The World Organisation Against Torture is the Catalyst of the SOS-Torture network, a Coalition of more than 200 international and national non-governmental organisations fighting torture, summary execution, enforced disappearanCes and all other Cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment and punishment. With offiCes in Geneva, Brussels and Tunis, OMCT runs programmes to favour State compliance with international law and national anti-torture legislation, provide urgent assistanCe to victims of torture and seek justice for them, advocate greater protection for children in detention, women, and human rights defenders worldwide. Odhikar is a Dhaka based human rights organization, established in OCtober 1994 to Create a wider monitoring and awareness raising system on the abuse of civil and political rights in Bangladesh. The rights watchdog Contributes to policy advocacy aiming to address the contemporary human rights situation in Bangladesh. Odhikar has speCial Consultative ECOSOC status at the United Nations and is a member organization of the 250 strong SOS torture network of the OMCT. Over the past years, OMCT member organization Odhikar has faCed serious threats, persecution for publishing critical human rights violations, and the arbitrary freezing of its accounts, including of funding from the European Union and other donors. The OMCT wishes to plaCe on record that international human rights law reCognizes the speCific role and proteCtion of human rights defenders and their organizations, including when submitting critical information such as on torture, to international bodies suCh as the UN Committee Against Torture. Ultimately, the aim of this report, which forms part of a global initiative of the OMCT, is to engage all those ConCerned in improving the response to torture as refleCted in the obligations voluntarily assumed by Bangladesh under international law. 4 I. Executive Summary – From recognition to cure: the need for setting a rule of law agenda Torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment with pervasive levels of impunity and complacency have for a long time been deeply rooted in the law enforcement reality and the legal and judicial system in Bangladesh. The laCk of any report to the UN Committee Against Torture for some twenty
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