Ali's case is part of an alarming rise in such incidents, including those of opposition members and political activists. Human Rights Watch recently expressed concern over the April 4 abduction and subsequent death of Aminul Islam, a prominent labor rights activist. Ain-O-Sailash Kendra, a leading human rights group in Bangladesh, has documented the disappearance of least 22 people in 2012 alone. According to Odhikar, another Dhaka-based human rights group, more than 50 people have disappeared since 2010.
The rise in disappearances, particularly of opposition members and activists, requires a credible and independent investigation,� said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The government has taken no serious steps to ensure such an investigation of these disappearances nor to prevent them in the first place.
Ali and his driver, Ansar Ali, have both vanished. The police found Ali's abandoned car and mobile phone in a parking lot near his house in Banani in central Dhaka at around midnight on April 17. There has been no sign of Ali or his driver since.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on the police to investigate Ali's disappearance, but also said that she believed Ali and his driver were hiding� at his party's orders to create a situation that would allow the opposition to blame the government.
Human Rights Watch has long documented abductions and killings by Bangladeshi security forces, especially the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). In its World Report 2012, Human Rights Watch noted that although the number of RAB killings had dropped following domestic and international criticism, there had been a sharp increase in enforced disappearances, with persons disappearing after last being seen in the custody of security agencies leading to concerns that security agencies have replaced one form of abuse with another. Bangladeshi authorities routinely refuse to confirm the detention or fate of those persons who disappear after being seen in their custody.
Under international law, an enforced disappearance is any form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun, speaking in January, dismissed Human Rights Watch's allegations of possible security force involvement in abuses and laid the entire blame for disappearances on criminal elements.
The government of Sheikh Hasina has made repeated promises to end abuses and ensure justice and accountability,� Adams said. But in spite of these public pledges, the government consistently dismisses or ignores evidence of abuses by the security forces. This is why an independent investigation into all cases of disappearances is urgently required.�
Human Rights Watch further expressed concern about apparent excessive use of force by the security forces against protesters throughout Bangladesh during a general strike called by the BNP to protest Ali's disappearance. Since April 21, two protesters, Monwar Miya and another who is yet to be identified, have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces. Reportedly, thousands more protesters have been injured and about one thousand have been arrested. Human Rights Watch called on the government to ensure a full and effective investigation into the two deaths, and ensure security forces only use the minimum necessary force to deal with violent crimes, as set out in the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
While the police are allowed to stop protesters from committing acts of criminal violence, they must not use excessive force to quell the protests,� Adams said.
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Bangladesh, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/asia/bangladesh
For more information, please contact:
In Los Angeles, Brad Adams (English): +44-7908-728333 (mobile); or adamsb@hrw.org
In The Hague, Tejshree Thapa (Nepali, English): +31-70-306-3817; or +31-6-533-664-63 (mobile); or thapat@hrw.org
In Mumbai, Meenakshi Ganguly, (Bengali, Hindi, English): +91-98-2003-6032 (mobile); or 6Scan has detected a possible fraud attempt from "mail.hrw.org" claiming to be gangulm@hrw.org
In New York, Jayshree Bajoria (Hindi, English): +1-646-753-0892 (mobile); or bajorij@hrw.org
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/26/bangladesh-alarming-rise-disappearances
Bangladesh authorities must account for deaths amid spate of disappearances
Fatalities during protests about the disappearance of a key opposition figure seven days ago in Bangladesh must be thoroughly investigated by the authorities, Amnesty International said.
Ilias Ali, secretary of the Sylhet Division of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) disappeared together with his driver Ansar Ali on 17 April.
His is the latest in a spate of disappearances in which security forces, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have been implicated, though they deny detaining those missing. During clashes over the disappearances between the BNP protesters and the police, two men were killed – both on 23 April.
Monawar Hossain was found dead in the Biswanath area of Sylhet with gun shot wounds, and a second man died in a Sylhet hospital of bullet wounds. According to witnesses, police had opened fire on demonstrators after being attacked with stones. "The Bangladesh authorities must establish an independent investigation to determine how these men died and who fired the bullets, and bring to justice those responsible for these deaths," said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International's Bangladesh Researcher.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called on police to investigate the disappearance of Ilias Ali and his driver. Paradoxically she also stated the two men chose to go into hiding to "create an issue". "Why did the prime minister order an inquiry, but then claim she knows what has happened? Any inquiry will be credible only if it is independent and free from police and political involvement – otherwise it risks simply towing the police line," said Faiz. "There appears to be a pattern of enforced disappearances - a concerted effort to eliminate people deemed undesirable."
One trade unionist has been killed, and more than 20 people have disappeared this year. On 4 April, Aminul Islam, a trade union leader went missing. He was found dead a day later in Ghatail, north of Dhaka. His family saw evidence of torture on his body and suspect he was abducted by security forces. He had been previously subject to arrest and beaten by members of the National Security Intelligence for his trade union activities.
"Aminul Islam was an outspoken leader known for his ability to mobilise workers for better conditions, which made him a target," said Faiz.
Two other BNP members, Iftekhar Ahmed Dinar and Junaid Ahmed, went missing on 2 April. Iftekhar Ahmed's family say they were taken from their homes by plain clothes officers. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Al Mukaddas and Mohammad Waliullah, members of the student organisation Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, went missing on 4 February. They have not been heard from since.
Amnesty International has spoken to family members of many of the victims, who say abductions are usually carried out by plain clothes security officers who are easily identified because they wear similar clothing, including heavy duty shoes unusual for the hot Bangladesh climate. They also have short hair.
Amnesty International has documented abductions and killings by Bangladesh security forces, especially the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), for years.
"These disappearances cannot be simply brushed off - it is the government's responsibility to bring the perpetrators to account, and ensure justice for the victims," said Faiz.
Amnesty International
Asia Pacific Regional Program - South Asia
1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, UK
Tel: 0044 20 7413 5652http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=380438
On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:40 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Farhad Mazhar on Goom/ Khoon:
http://dailynayadiganta.com/details/42806
On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:27 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:Political disappearances plague Bangladesh
By Nicolas Haque
Photo by AFPhttp://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2012/04/22/political-disappearances-plague-bangladeshHuman rights organisations say about 100 people, mostly political activists, have disappeared in the last year in Bangladesh. Among them is Ilyas Ali, a former parliament member from the region of Sylhet. He was seen as a rising figure among the ranks of the opposition. Ali's wife is convinced security forces abducted him because of his political activities.
While her fears are not groundless, it is also true that local politicians are often linked to organised crime. Many of those who have disappeared had a criminal past. Ali, for example, had spent time in prison on suspicion of murder.
Adilur Rahman, a Dhaka-based human-rights lawyer, believes that the disappearances reveal the shortcomings of the justice system.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rHA-0WarmM0#t=4s
There is a two-three year backlog of cases in court and criminals often go unpunished."Many local politicians believe they are above the law," Rahman says. "These disappearances are a form of quick justice."Security forces, though, deny any involvement in the disappearances. Recently, after a meeting with her intelligence chief, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, the Bangladesh prime minister, said that Ilyas was in hiding and this was a ploy to stir up trouble.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), along with its 18 political allies, responded by announcing a countrywide general strike on Sunday.After a night of violence, during which angry opposition activists torched vehicles, schools, businesses and shops remained shut throughout on Sunday.
About 30,000 extra police officers were on duty and security forces cordoned off the BNP headquarters in the capital, Dhaka. Opposition activists who were to be seen on the streets said hundreds of their colleagues had been arrested. Striking a note of defiance, they have vowed to continue to protest until Ilyas Ali is found alive.
http://sonarbangladesh.com/blog/post/106031On Mon, Apr 23, 2012 at 1:24 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Bangladesh police out in force as tension rises over missing politician
Ilias Ali of opposition party disappears, with fingers pointing at Sheikh Hasina's government and security forces
Saad Hammadi in Dhaka and Jason Burke in Delhi
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 April 2012
Police in Bangladesh used baton charges, live bullets and teargason Sunday in clashes with demonstrators protesting against the alleged abduction of a senior politician. The violence was the most acute for many months in the unstable state.
In Dhaka, the capital, dozens of small devices were reported to have exploded and 20 arrests were made. In the north-eastern city of Sylhet, 12 people were reported to have been injured and more than 50 detained in running battles. On Sunday night a tense calm had been established, although tens of thousands of security personnel remained deployed across the country in anticipation of further clashes on Monday.
The crisis was sparked by the disappearance last Tuesday of Ilias Ali, a key organiser with the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP). Ali was the latest in a series of political activists who have apparently been abducted, raising fears of a concerted campaign of intimidation aimed at opposition politicians. At least 22 people have gone missing so far this year, the local human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra said. In 2011, the number was 51. Estimates of the exact number vary though all indicate a rising overall total.
Many local and international campaigners have blamed security forces, accusing the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and local police of eliminating opposition figures to benefit the administration of Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister.
Spokesmen from the Rab have denied the charge, saying that many of those found dead or who have disappeared were involved in crime and killed by associates or rivals. The director of the Rab's legal wing, Commander Mohammed Sohail, said an operation had been launched to recover Ali and a search was continuing.
Speaking in Dhaka last week, Hasina suggested Ali might have been "hiding somewhere" on the orders of his party. Ministers described his disappearance as "sad" and "unexpected".Police officials contacted by the Guardian refused to comment on the case.
Ali's wife, Tahsina Rushdir, said her husband, a veteran activist who had risen through the ranks of the BNP, had been campaigning for the party in Sylhet before he disappeared. "He told me that the government was making a list of people who were being critical about them. He wouldn't be picked up this way unless he had posed a threat to the government," she said. "The waiting is very difficult."
More than 30 people were injured in clashes between opposition activists and the police on the streets of Dhaka last week following the news that Ali was missing. Tensions in the south Asian state, home to 160 million people, have been building for months. Runaway inflation, rising inequality and recent corruption charges against some ministers have all combined to undermine the popularity of the government, in power since winning a landslide victory in 2008.
Politics in Bangladesh, which won independence from Pakistan after a bloody conflict in 1971, has been marked for decades by the personal rivalry of Sheikh Hasina, head of the Bangladesh Awami League, and Khaleda Zia, leader of the BNP. This has not however prevented economic growth rates that are among south Asia's highest and some significant improvements in areas such as education. But governance and the rule of law remain weak. Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of Bangladeshi human rights group Odhikar, said the disappearances were "a result of the impunity granted to the law enforcement [agencies] for the last 41 years".
Dr Iftekhar Uz-Zaman, executive director of the Bangladesh chapter of Berlin-based Transparency International, blamed "growing partisan political influence" that was eroding "the capacity of the state to promote rule of law, justice, equality and basic human rights of the people".
Among the recent missing are three student leaders from the BNP. The body of a trade union organiser, apparently tortured, was found after he disappeared on 4 April. Two opposition activists, both members of an Islamic student organisation, disappeared in February.
Shafiq Ahmed, minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, said that a full investigation was under way to locate all those who have disappeared, and that allegations that the government could be responsible in any way for abductions were motivated by "an interest to gain public attention".
The minister also rejected criticism of the government's economic record. "The economy [in Bangladesh] is better than many countries in the face of global economic depression," he said.
The Rab has received training from British police, the Guardian revealed in 2010. Details of the programme appeared in a number of cables released by WikiLeaks. The Rab is believed to be responsible for up to 1,000 extrajudicial killings since being formed eight years ago.
In its 2012 annual report Human Rights Watch said ministers have denied that such incidents occur, even when the government's own investigations found evidence of wrongdoing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/22/bangladesh-police-tension-missing-politician
Disappearances go unanswered: Law enforcers seen to be law-breakers
22 people so far disappeared this year, raising concern as people suspect law enforcers' involvement, said Ain O Salish Kendra.No-one was found -- dead or alive. 51 people went missing last year while the number was 30 in the year before. Of them, 21 were found dead either by law enforcers or other people. In 2009, only two people went missing.
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