[Attachment(s) from Nirob Dorshok included below]
The following response addresses a number of recent allegations that have been made concerning my refusal to enter Bangladesh on 5 August 2011. In particular it is aimed at addressing the allegation raised by a member of the Bangladesh diaspora who has alleged that I committed a criminal offence by attempting to enter Bangladesh and was removed from the country by the British High Commission.
Toby Cadman
Sarajevo, 24 December 2011
It has recently been suggested by certain segments of the Bangladesh media that I have in the past attempted to mislead the Bangladesh authorities in terms of attempting to secure a visa. It has been suggested that I applied for a visa through the Bangladesh High Commission in London for a seminar when I in fact intended to visit Bangladesh for business purposes. It is my belief that these statements have arisen due to a misunderstanding or miscommunication and therefore I hope that these words may set the record straight. Before I embark on this clarification I sincerely hope that the Bangladesh authorities consider my application for a long-term business visa in order to represent my clients who have engaged my services as their legal advisor. I wish to make it absolutely clear that I have no desire or intention to do anything that serves to embarrass or degrade the judicial or governmental institutions of Bangladesh. My intentions have always been aimed at ensuring those that I represent receive a fair trial in accordance with the highest international and national standards of due process. It is beyond debate that Bangladesh emerged as a sovereign nation from a bloody liberation war. It is beyond debate that casualties were inflicted on a massive scale and that countless civilians and military personnel were subjected to treatment in violation of international humanitarian law. These crimes deserve a concerted effort to bring an end to culture of impunity that has existed in Bangladesh since its creation. I accepted the instruction to represent the Jamaat-e-Islami leaders as I fundamentally believe that crimes such as these require a judicial process that meets the highest international standards. As a member of the English Bar it is my firm belief that cases that are properly prosecuted and properly defended will result in a just verdict that will sustain any objective criticism. Anything less than a just process will serve no purpose other than being portrayed as victors' justice. It is not enough to say that the crimes are so heinous that any person who stands accused should be denied fundamental and constitutional rights. In fact I would say that the protection of human rights of the accused is all the more important the more serious the charge, I was born in 1971 so I have no first knowledge of the conflict. My understanding comes from what I have been able to read. It is unfortunate that there is very little independent commentary on the nature of the conflict; biased accounts from both sides impact little on providing historical data. It is for this reason that the role of the Tribunal in providing a historical record is vital in terms of its transitional justice role. This is primarily why I remain keen to play a role in shaping the future of Bangladesh though this important judicial process. The importance of the role the Tribunal plays does not mean that it should escape criticism if there is objective criticism to be made. A mature democracy must be able to accept criticism and improve. Criticism is not seditious or contemptuous if it remains objective. Provided that such criticism is not aimed at ridiculing it should be encouraged rather than silenced. I was first introduced to the establishment of the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh (Tribunal) in the summer of 2010 when I was asked by a member of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association to speak at a seminar organised in the House of Lords. It is important to note that I was invited in my capacity as a member of the International Bar Association's War Crimes Committee and not as a member of the defence. This meeting was chaired by Lord Avebury and attended by members of the IBA, Amnesty International, Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association and Jamaat-e-Islami. ON this occasion I spoke about fair trial guarantees in general and did not offer any criticism of the Tribunal or its legal framework. Following on from this first meeting I met a representatives of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association and a leading lawyer from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. My colleague Steven Kay QC also attended this meeting. Steven and I advised on the holding of a seminar in Dhaka to discuss the issues. The seminar was organised in October 2010 and I subsequently applied for a visa through the Bangladesh High Commission in London. This visa was issued on 8 October 2010. I must stress that this is the only visa through the Bangladesh High Commission that I have formally applied for. On all other trips to Bangladesh I have applied for a visa on arrival. Here are the dates of the visas that are stamped in my passport:
8 October 2010: 10 day single entry visa granted by the BD High Commission
10 January 2011: VOA issued valid for 15 days
18 February 2011: VOA issued valid for 14 days
19 April 2011: VOA issued valid for 7 days
2 May 2011: VOA issued valid for 11 days
5 August 2011: VOA denied
As is clear from the above, I first visited Dhaka in October last year and I travelled after successfully applying for a visa at the Bangladesh High Commission in London. This was for the purpose of attending a seminar organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association. On each of the following visits I was travelling from Bosnia so applied for VOA without any difficulties. On each occasion that I visited Bangladesh I spoke at seminars and round table discussions. I also met with members of the diplomatic community, members of the Tribunal and with members of the Jamaat-e-Isami defence team. I have posted full details of my visits on my professional website therefore there can be no suggestion that I have attempted to conceal the purpose of my visits. Each time I have visited I have presented an official letter of invitation. On 10 January 2011, the first occasion in which I applied for a VOA, I was in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time. I consulted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office online guidance and telephoned the Bangladesh High Commission in London. I was advised that it was perfectly appropriate for me to obtain a VOA. On one occasion I travelled from London without a visa in which my colleague, John Cammegh, accompanied me, and we obtained a VOA. We were both reluctant to do so, however, we attended the Bangladesh High Commission in London and applied for a visa through the usual channels. However, we were advised by the High Commission staff that a business visa would take at least 2 weeks. Due to the fact that we were due to travel within just a few days, the Bangladesh High Commission consulate staff recommended that we apply for a VOA. I questioned whether this was appropriate and was informed that due to the fact that John and I had official invitations there would be no problem with the Bangladesh immigration authorities. On arrival in Bangladesh we were granted VOAs without any complications. We were open with the authorities as to the reasons for the visit. Neither John Cammegh nor myself had any reason to doubt the information that we had been provided with by the Bangladesh High Commission consulate staff. On all other trips to Bangladesh I travelled from Bosnia as I was based in Sarajevo at that time. In 4 August 2011 I travelled to Dhaka as I was invited to speak to speak at a human rights seminar organised by the Nagorik Forum. I had scheduled meetings with the Acting High Commissioner Nick Low, Acting US Ambassador Jon Danilowicz and other members of the diplomatic community. I had also spoken to the US War Crimes Ambassador, Stephen J. Rapp, who had asked me to meet with his envoy, Nicholas Koumjian, who was in Dhaka conducting an assessment. I also planned to meet with the Sayedee defence team. I understand that there may be some confusion as to my attempt to enter Bangladesh on this occasion. However, I can state in all honesty that the only confusion has been created by the Bangladesh authorities in trying to deal with what must have been a deeply embarrassing diplomatic episode. Since my ejection from Bangladesh I have been asked by many different persons to explain what happened. I have been reluctant to do so as it is my intention to return to Bangladesh as soon as the Government so permits and I agreed not to discuss with the media the reasons behind the refusal of entrance. However, it now seems to be largely in the public domain and I would therefore like to set the record straight and attempt to confront the allegations that are aimed at attacking my character. In order to dispel any suggestion that I attempted to enter the country unlawfully or dishonestly I am happy to provide the following information. On 4 August 2011 I travelled from Sarajevo to Dhaka, as I had been on holiday with my family in the Former Yugoslavia. Sarajevo is my second home after spent 8 years there; coincidentally prosecuting war crimes in a somewhat more balanced system. As you will be aware there is no Bangladesh Embassy or Consulate in Bosnia so I decided to apply for a visa on arrival. I fully understand that the absence of a Consulate does not relieve me of the duty to properly obtain a visa. However, since I had successfully applied for a VOA on several occasions in the past without complication, I had no reason to suspect anything untoward. There has been a suggestion that I was informed by the Government during my last visit not to try to enter Bangladesh with a VOA as I would be refused entrance. I refute this allegation entirely. I have had absolutely no dealings with the Government on matters of immigration and no difficulties or obstruction with immigration authorities in the past. It is correct to say that on each and every visit to Bangladesh I have been followed by members of the intelligence services, however, I recognise that such persons are only following orders and have been nothing courteous and respectful towards me. Even when I was ejected from Bangladesh on 5 August 2011 I was again treated with the utmost respect and was not at any stage made to feel in fear for my safety. I can confirm that the only member of the Government I have spoken to officially is the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Shafique Ahmed, and the only visa related discussion we had concerned my request for his assistance in securing a long term business visa for our defence team. As he will undoubtedly be able to confirm he certainly did not give me any warning as to trying to re-enter the country. I can also confirm that in my last visit to Dhaka in May 2011 I was invited by Ambassador Rapp for an official dinner hosted by the US Embassy in Gulshan. The Law Minister, judges of the Tribunal and the Registrar attended this dinner and I was given the opportunity to discuss some of the problems I saw with the Tribunal. This was officially the last opportunity I have to discuss matters with a member of the Bangladesh Government in an official capacity and nothing was raised in Ambassador Rapp's presence. On 5 August 2011 when I arrived at the VOA immigration area. I applied for my visa in the usual way. I paid the requested fee and when asked for the reason of my trip I told them openly why I was there. My application form clearly has "seminar" marked as the reason and I offered to show the invitation from the Nagorik Forum. I informed the immigration officials that I was also visiting in order to hold meetings with the diplomatic community. I was shortly thereafter denied a visa and advised to leave the country. I was told that an official order had been given by the appropriate authority denying me the right of entrance. I was officially persona non grata. The reason given by the immigration authorities, although this was not an official communication, was that I was defending "war criminals" and due to my criticisms of the ICTBD. Since being refused entrance I have utilised all legitimate methods at my disposal to ensure that I am granted a business visa. I have recently received a letter of support from Ambassador Rapp that will be appended to my visa request. In conclusion I would confirm that I was denied a visa on the basis of an official order - that has been made explicitly clear to me. I was shown the order and the Deputy Director of the VOA stated this publicly immediately after my removal. I did not try to enter unlawfully or dishonestly; I was candid with the authorities and filled in the application form sincerely. I was never warned by the Government not to attempt enter the country by applying for a VOA. I would not have attempted to do so if I had been warned. As to the suggestion that I was given a visa then stopped for attempting to mislead the authorities this is quite untrue. My passport will show that it was stamped with a VOA but the details are incomplete. There is now a line striking through the VOA. My passport also displays the numerous VOAs that I have received in the past. As is clear from this letter, the only important matter is that I am able to return to Dhaka with the least amount of fuss and delay. I have no desire to seek to embarrass the Bangladesh Government for this unfortunate episode. The authorities refused me access and detained me, as they were obliged to following receipt of the Home Ministry's order. I offer no criticism towards the immigration police as I was treated with the utmost respect and courtesy.
Toby M. Cadman
Sarajevo, 24 December 2011
Attachment(s) from Nirob Dorshok
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