Hasina unleashes

state-terror

Police and Forces given License to kill

Centre for
Bangladesh
Studies

Inside This issue

Hasina unleashes state
Editor Council condemns
Nationwide arrest

1
2
2

Dhaka: In Bangladesh opposition

20-party alliances non-stop transport blockade further fuelled by
numerous grievances of the long
suffering public in districts countrywide have already turned the
protest movement into an avalanche of unceasing unrest. In response, widely
unpopular
government of Sheikh Hasina has
unleashed state terror, random
arrests, gunpoint extortions, and
license to kill or maim at will on
any pretext to police and other
forces implicating opposition unrest. Trigger-happy ransom-seeking ruling party thugs openly
aided by the police and other security forces personnel are not
only taking things in their own
hands in murderous proliferation
but also openly boasting and
threatening violence. Government leaders at the very top
granted security forces licence to
kill.

Addressing an evaluation meeting

with senior officials of the
Bangladesh Police the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, ordered the
police to take whatever steps
necessary to stop the alleged ongoing blockade by opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party and
Jamaat-e-Islami across the country, I will take the responsibility
for whatever happens(As aresult
of such action) she said.

The meeting was held on 28th

January at the prime ministers office marking the Police Week
2015. A number of Bangladeshi
newspapers including Naya Diganta, New Age reported on 29th
January 2015.

Empowered by such licence instead of preventing street violence top officials of the various
branches of security services are
issuing further orders to their
forces authorising indiscriminate
violence.

Volume 3 Issue2
March 2, 2015

For example, almost on the que,

the on 7th February Director
General of Police A. K. M. Shahidul
Hoque announced in Chittagong
Dampara Police Line that, government will never accept defeat,
and the police will support this
government with the last drop of
their blood. We are exercising a

policy of zero tolerance.

Questioned by the journalists

about extra-judicial killing by the
security forces the Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion
(RAB) Banazir Ahmed told on
25th January as widely reported
in Dhaka press, There is nothing
called extra-juditial killing. He further added, were we given arms
to play Ha-Do-Do (a Bangladeshi
popular game)?
On 15th February, the Director
General of Border Guard Battalion (BGB) Major General Aziz
Ahmed said in Dhaka Medical
College Hospital, if necessary
BGB will not hesitate to use fire
arms, if I come across any miscreant I will not simply chase them
with a baton.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Dhaka Range S. M. Mahfuzul

Hoque Nuruzzaman while addressing a meeting in Gazipur Police Line on 7th February openly
ordered his forces to go further,
not just shoot them dead but destroy their entire family as well, if
you manage to capture them do
whatever you want - responsibility is mine.

At a reception to acknowledge
his contribution to Police Force
and attended by large number of
rulling Awami League members,
the notorious Superintendent of
Ghazipur Police of Mohammad
Harunur Rashid, ordered his officers to beat protesters to death.
His unique contribution to police
force which attained him notoriority was achieved when he severely beaten up opposition BNP
Chief Whip Joynal Abedin Farooq
in demonstration of the parliamentarians on 6th July 2011.

There are credible reports that

senior security officials are meeting in various locations and planning and in collision with ruling
party thugs executing fire bomb
attacks on public transports
burning to death in order to lay
blame on protesting opposition
supports for such wanton act of
violence against innocent

Cold-blooded murder not

Gunfights
Killing in gunfights is now a regular phenomenon and police statement is widely seen as a cover up
to willful killing. A news report
published in a national daily on
17th February stated that nine
out of fifteen victims of police
shootouts over the past 26 days
were innocent people and not
linked to any political party yet
they were arrested by law enforcers and fired upon mainly
above knees in cold blood.

The report identified one of the

victims as a day labourer, another
shopkeeper and yet another a
mobile toy vendor.Victims also included an expatriate and a university student, among others.
Another report on the same day
said 19 persons were killed in socalled gunfights during the same
period and the law enforcers justified the killing terming the victims as terrorists.
Four people were killed on the
day these reports were published
I;e; Tuesday the 17th February in
so-called gunfights two at Chapaibobabgonj and two at Jessore.
for a glimpse of the extent of brutalities please read Indiscriminate state terror continues
unabated on page 3.

Editors Council criticises

government interference

page 2

Dhaka: Editors Council, an

organization of editors of
highest-circulated newspapers
in the country, on24 February
said that directives regarding
programmes and news in the
media intervene with the
freedom of expression.

TV talk-show has been intervened in many ways. Some

talk-show programmes have
been stopped so far. Lists of
talk-show discussants have
been specified. Intervention is
there regarding TV live programmes. We think the direction regarding which items
will be aired or not intervenes with freedom of expression, Editors Council said

in a statement issued after a

meeting.

Alleging that some journalists

arent getting a chance to
cover certain government
and party programmes, the
statement said it cant be
helpful for independent media
to treat the media and other
forces as opposition.

The council hoped for a more

responsible and co-operative
behavior from the government to preserve freedom,
objectivity and neutrality of
all media including newspapers.

tough for the media to work

maintaining freedom and neutrality in recent times, the
statement said on one side
attacks are taking place on
journalists in the name of political programmes, on the
other, efforts are on to
squeeze the freedom of
media.

The government as well as

administration are creating
obstructions in collecting and
distributing neutral news.
Sometimes some newspapers
have been labeled as the
spokesperson of a specific
party/quarter, the statement
added.

Activists of students and youth wing of

Awami League held with Bombs and Arms

Leaders of Chattra league and

Jubo league associate of ruling
party bangladesh Awami
League h
ave been detained with petrol
bombs and other firearms
along with many miscreants in
various places of the country
including the capital Dhaka. A
complaint has arisen that police are releasing them soon
after being caught.

According to reports, Kaisar

(25), a Chattra League leader
has been arrested by police
on Monday night with a foreign handgun, a round of bullets, and a magazine in
Dagonbhuiyan Bazar area of
Feni. Abul Kalam Azad, the office-in-charge of Feni police,
detective branch confirmed
the news to the media. Kaisar
is the son of Kazem Ali. He is
from Fazilpur village of the
sub-district. He is a Chattra
League leader of the ward no.
2 of the corporation. But the
president of the sub-district
Chattra league, Asif Hossen,
claimed Kaisar is not one of
them.

Two Jubo league leaders

named Manik and Babul have
also been arrested from Jogonnath Dighi area, Chouddogram subdistrict of Comilla

Mentioning that it becomes

with petrol bombs. They both

are Jubo League leaders of
that area. Locals said they had
been arrested on 11th February, Wednesday at 11pm. The
office-in-charge of Chouddogram police station, Uttam
Kumar Chakraborty, denied
the report and said they
found two abandoned petrol
bombs on the road. But it has
been said that police freed
both Jubo League leaders
from the police station.

Wasim (29), a Jubo League

leader has been arrested with
a handgun on 16th February
evening from Joypura College
gate, Ramganj of Laxmipur.
His fathers name is Md.
Hossen. He is from Kalamcha
village of the corporation. He
is the Vice-President of the
ward no.7 of the corporation.
The Police said two local parties were arguing in front of
Joypura College gate on Monday afternoon. At that time
Wasim intimidated the opposition with a gun. Afterwards
police detained him with the
gun. The office-in charge of
Ramgonj police station, Lokman Hossen stated, he was
arrested red-handed with the
gun on the basis of secret information. But there was no
bullet in it. A case has been

filed against him under the

arms act.

Moreover, four leaders and

members of Chattra League
were severely injured while
making bombs on 11th February night in Rupganj Chhanab
area of Narayanganj. Later on
they were admitted to a local
clinic and the Orthopedic
Hospital. Among them, the
condition of a leader named
Rahmatullah is critical. Police
stated, on 11th February midnight a loud bomb explosion
took place in the jute warehouse of Lokman Hossen, an
Awami League leader of
Bhulta union. Four Chattra
League leaders including Rahmatullah were injured in that
incident. Afterwards locals
rescued them and admitted
them to the Orthopedic Hospital and others. Next morning high officials of the police
including the office in charge
of Rupganj police station
went to visit the venue but
found it locked. Then they
broke into the house and
seized a cache of evidence.
They found ten machetes,
several daggers and imported
firearms from there. It has
been accused that, right after
the explosion, Awami and
Chattra League leaders tried

to remove all the evidence

from the venue. The general
secretary of Rupganj Chattra
League, Hafizur Rahman Sajib
claimed to journalists that the
injured people are not from
Chattra League.

In Laxmipur, two people died

in a recent arson attack on a
CNG and a pickup van. Jamaat has published a list alleging Chattra Leagues
association with this incident.
They have accused the local
Chattra League for a late
night petrol bomb attack, followed by capture and swift
release by police.
Laxmipur Police superintendent Shah Mijan Shafiur Rahman told journalists that two
of the boys who belong to
Awami League associated
families are not convicted of
petrol bomb attacks but of
wrecking vehicles. But there
are attempts to turn the matter otherwise. The father of
one of the arrestees is associated to the ruling Awami
League. However, Rahman alleged that while the father
was from Awami League, the
arrested son was from opposition student party, Shibir.

Alarming campaign of killing

and arrest spreads fear

page 3

Dhaka, Bangladesh - An
alarming rise in the number
of killings of political activists
in Bangladesh since disputed
parliamentary polls has left
grassroots campaigners
across the country fearing for
their lives.

Labelling the arrests and subsequent deaths of activists

"extrajudicial killings", opposition leaders have blamed the
government for targeting opposition activists. Several ruling party activists have also
been killed over the past two
months.

Human rights groups fear that

the crisis is likely to become
even worse in coming
months, if the government
does not take drastic steps to
bring the killers to justice.

Deaths in custody
Robiul Islam was arrested on
January 27, his neighbours
told Al Jazeera. "Police
sources had later informed
that, following a tip-off, a team
of the joint forces [the police
and paramilitary agencies]
had conducted a raid," said
Saifur Rahman, a journalist
based in Jessore. "After they
were allegedly attacked by
opposition activists, a gunfight
ensued between the two
sides, during which Robiul
was shot."

Insecurity follows disputed Bangladesh vote

The Bangladesh National
Party (BNP) activist died a
few hours later, at a nearby

health facility. The police alleged that Islam was involved

in the killing of Chaitanya
Kumar Mandal, a local ruling
party leader, a day earlier.
While the names and locations change, the story remains the same across the
country, as police and security
forces claim those who have
been shot dead in custody
over the past month had
themselves been involved in
killings.

On January 30, Touhidul Islam,

one of the BNP's district
party leaders, was also killed
in a similar "gunfight" after he
was arrested in Sonaimuri.
In its January 2014 monthly
report, Odhikar, a Dhakabased human rights group,
counted more than 30 extrajudicial killings, "allegedly conducted by RAB [Rapid Action
Battalion], police, BGB [the
paramilitary Border Guard]
and joint forces" - in that one
month alone.
The report also said that 26
of those killed were either
activists or leaders of the
BNP or Jamaat, the country's
laregst Islamist party.
Atiqur Rahman, a joint secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra
Dal - the student wing of the
BNP - was one of those killed
last month.

After being accused of attacking Cultural Affairs Minister

Asaduzzaman Noor's motorcade in December, 26-yearold Rahman had gone into
hiding in Tangail, in the centre
of the country.

"On the night of January 13,

at least six people who
claimed to be members of
the detective branch of the
police stormed into my house
and picked up Atiqur and Mohidul Islam [Rahman's cousin
and Jamaat activist]," said
Babul Khan, a relative who
was sheltering Rahman.

Although Rahman's corpse

was reportedly recovered by
police on January 20 near the
Saidpur bypass road, the family say his cousin Mohidul is
still missing.
Some 302 BNP leaders and
activists - and its 18 allies have been either murdered
or "disappeared" between
December 26 and January 27,
said Khaleda Zia, BNP chairperson, on February 4. Some
29,262 opposition supporters
were arrested across the
country during the same period, she said.

"Security forces and ruling

party activists were behind
the killings and forced disappearance," said Zia, a twotime former prime minister.
"According to the information collected at BNP headquarters, in one month, 242
opposition leaders and activists were killed and 60
were victims of enforced disappearances," Zia told reporters.
The fear of arrests and extrajudicial killings has gripped
political campaigners.

Little confidence
Human rights groups fear the

worst for Bangladesh's politics if the killings of political

activists continue.
"The rate of killings have increased at an alarming rate,"
said Nur Khan, director of investigations at Ain O Salish
Kendra (ASK), a human rights
organisation in Dhaka.
ASK noted 33 extrajudicial
killings during January. Last
year, they recorded more
than 200 extrajudicial killings
in Bangladesh.

"The targets are mostly opposition activists and leaders,"

said Khan. "If the opposition
is not allowed to practice
their democratic rights to
protest, they will eventually
look for other alternatives.
"If political killings continue,
the rise of armed religious
political parties will be inevitable in Bangladesh."
Human Rights Watch has
urged Bangladesh's government to bring a halt to the
deaths.

Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia division of

Human Rights Watch, said the
repeated use of "the same
story" - that of a detainee
somehow being shot when
taken to the scene of an alleged crime - was "ridiculous".

"These stories are even less

believable when the victim is
a politically unpopular person," he said. "The authorities
simply have no credibility
when they make these
claims."

Arrest warrant issued for Khaleda Zia

Feb 25 (Reuters) A
Bangladesh court issued arrest warrants on Wednesday
for former prime minister
and opposition leader
Khaleda Zia, action likely to
escalate tension fuelling antigovernment protests in which
more than 100 people have
been killed over the past
month.
A special anti-corruption
court issued the warrants
after declining her lawyers
plea for more time in two
graft cases.
The court issued warrants

against her There is no justice, Khaledas lawyer

Sanaullah Miah told reporters.
Khaleda is accused of embezzling $650,000 in two corruption cases involving charitable
funds during her last term as
prime minister from 2001 to
2006.

She has failed to appear incourt for hearings citing security concerns.
She and leaders of her party
have denied the charges say-

ing they are politically motivated.

Khaledas Bangladesh Nationalist Party refused to take
part in a general election a
year ago, saying it was rigged.

It stepped up protests last

month in a bid to force Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina to
step down and hold a new
vote under a neutral caretaker administration.

Bangladeshi politics has been

mired for years in rivalry between Hasina and Khaleda.

Both women are related to

former national leaders, and
they have alternated as prime
minister for most of the past
two decades.

Bangladesh orders top Jamaat

leader to hang, fuelling unrest

page 4

Bangladesh Nationalist Party

(BNP) called on supporters
to blockade roads, railways
and waterways to force
Hasina to call new polls.

DHAKA: Bangladeshs war

crimes tribunal ordered the
execution of a senior Islamist
leader Wednesday after convicting him of atrocities during the countrys 1971
independence war, triggering
violence outside the court.

The verdict is expected to

further inflame tensions in
Bangladesh where an alliance
of opposition parties, including Jamaat, is trying to topple
the government of Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina.

At least 87 people have died

since early January when the
leader of the main opposition

Justice Obaidul Hassan, head

of the controversial International Crimes Tribunal (ICT),
handed down the sentences,
saying the 79-year-old leader
would be hanged by the neck
until his death.
He was found guilty of six
out of nine charges. As a
leader of Jamaat, he collaborated with Pakistan army and
he carried out in the name of
Islam, prosecutor Sultan
Mahmud told reporters.

Subhan is the 17th person

and the 12th and the Jamaat
Leader to be convicted by the
court, which is a domestic tribunal set up by Hasinas government without any

international oversight.

Prosecutors said Subhan was

the head of Jamaat and a proPakistani militia in the northwestern district town of
Pabna and he actively took
part in the murder of hundreds of innocent villagersand
minority Hindus in the 1971
conflict when the then East
Pakistan seceded from Islamabad.

Defence lawyers said they

would appeal the verdict as
the charges against Subhan
were false and baseless.

The war crimes court has

mostly focused on the trials
of the Jamaat leaders who opposed the break-up of Pakistan and saw the liberation
war by Bengalis as a conspiracy by majority-Hindu India.

handed down against Jamaat

leaders, including its supreme
and spiritual leaders, plunged
Bangladesh into its deadliest
unrest in 2013.

Thousands of Islamists
clashed with police in nationwide protests over the verdicts and other issues and
some 500 people were killed.
BNP leader Khaleda Zia and
Jamaat say the trials are
aimed at eliminating opposition leaders rather than rendering justice while rights
groups have said they fall
short of international standards.

The government maintains

they are needed to heal the
wounds of the war, which it
says left three million people
dead. Independent researchers put the toll much
lower.

SC releases full verdict of Kamaruzzaman

The Supreme Court on Monday 2 march released the full

verdict upholding the death
penalty for Jamaat-e-Islami
leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman in a war crimes case.

Earlier in the day, all the four

SC judges, who had delivered
the verdict on November 3
last year by a majority decision, signed the 577-page
judgment.

They judges are Chief Justice

SK Sinha, Justice Md Abdul
Wahhab Miah, Justice Hasan
Foez Siddique and Justice
AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury
Manik.

The government can now

start process for executing
Kamaruzzaman as the
Supreme Court released the
full judgment upholding his
death penalty, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said after
the release of the verdict.
There is no legal bar for the
government to fix a date for
the execution of the Jamaats
assistant secretary general, he
told The Daily Star.
He however said the execution process will be suspended if the convict files a

Previous death sentences

review petition with the apex

court challenging his death
penalty.

Sishir Monir, the defence

lawyer confirmed the reporters that they have recieved the certified copy of
the verdict. He also informed
that they will file a review petition challenging the verdict.

Kamaruzzaman, an Assistant
Secretary General of Jamaate-Islami, faced a total of
seven charges levied against
him in relation to crimes
committed during the 1971
war. He denies all charges as
baseless and pleaded innocent. His lawyers and family
have alleged his trial was politically motivated and replete
with flaws.

Among criticisms of the trial

process are that during the
war Kamaruzzaman was a
teenager thus ineligible for
the high paramilitary role he
is alleged to have held. Furthermore, the charges against
him are all unprecedented; in
the 40 years since the war, no
charges or allegations of any
crimes during the war were
levied against him. This included in the post war period
when Kamaruzzaman was ar-

after the release of the full

judgment.

rested among many during

mass arrests of those suspected of being local collaborators. No evidence was
found against Kamaruzzaman
and he was immediately released.

Criticisms have also emerged

regarding the trial process, including the arbitrary limit to
only five witnesses placed on
the defence with no such
limit placed on the prosecution. The ICT has also faced
criticism following the tribunalgate scandal wherein
leaked recordings revealed
collusion between judges,
prosecution, government officials and individuals external
to the trial with vested interests.

Talking to The Daily Star, Attorney General Mahbubey

Alam said Kamaruzzaman has
to file the review petition
with the SC within 15 days

The Appellate Division of the

SC might take a few days for
hearing and disposing of the
review petition, if filed by the
convict, he added. The scope
for reviewing judgments in
criminal cases is very little,
observed the attorney general.

Justice SK Sinha, now the

chief justice, headed the fourmember SC bench. The other
members were Justice Md
Abdul Wahhab Miah, Justice
Hasan Foez Siddique and Justice AHM Shamsuddin
Choudhury Manik. The SC
has so far completed the trials of two war crimes accused, while the trials of
seven others are pending
with it.

On 15 February 2015, Kamaruzzamans party, Jamaat-eIslami issued a statement

condemning the impending
verdict and alleging the government is intending to execute Kamaruzzaman as an act
of political expediency in the
current political impasse gripping the nation.

Victim families called for Justice

page 5

Indiscriminate state terror continues unabated

Dhaka: The family members of

the victim of extra judicial killing
in Bangladesh by various security
forces have appealed to the International Criminal Court to
take intiative to secure justice for
the victims. Extrajudicial executions in police custody in the
name of crossfire or gunfight
killings have seen a spike in recent weeks. More than 29 opposition people, mostly students,
have been killed in this manner
since January 5 2015. Statements
were sent to the ICC from the
victims family seeking justice for
their loved one.

A total of 30 victims family wrote

to the ICC seeking justice for the
indiscriminate murder of their
children by the Bangladeshi security foreces in a bid to cull current anti governmnet prtest.

One of them is Saleha Begum,

Motherof Saqibul Islam. He was
studying in BA (Honors) 2nd
Year at University of Chittagong.
Sakib was arrested on the way
while he was returning home. He
was brutally tortured in custody,
and then sent to hospital. When
his situation deteriorated, he was
transferred to the Apollo Hospital at Dhaka, where he breathed
his last on 28th January, 2015. According to Saleha, her son was
not involved in any kinds of antisate activity. He was a peaceful
young men with aspiration for a
better life. Saleha appealed to the
Internation Criminal Court to
ensure justice for her son, who
was a victiom of extra judicial
killing by Bangladeshi police force.

Like Saleha many others families

also wrote to the ICC.

Md Emdadullah was picked

up from his home before
killed: Md Emdadullah) was a 23
years old young man. He was a
student of Honors (2nd Year) at
Dhaka College. He was picked up
from his residence by police on
30th January, as informed by
those who witnessed. After a
brutal night in the custody, he
was killed on 31st January, 2015
at midnight. His dead body was
found around the Beribadh area
of Rupnagar, Mirpur.

DB arrested Md Shahabuddin Patwary: He was a student

of Honors final year at the Sociology department of Comilla Victoria College. He was arrested by
Detective Branch (DB) from our
home at Chouddagram, Comilla
at the afternoon, February 5,
2015. Then, he went missing. We
couldnt find a trace of him. His
dead body was found the very
next day (February 6) at the mortuary of Comilla Medical College
Hospital.
Md Shahabuddins limbs
were severed by bullets: Shahbuddin was a student of Crop
Sciences Department of the University of Rajshahi. He was arrested on the night of 5th
February, 2015 from Katakhali
area of Rajshahi. Later on, Police
brought his dead body at the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
He was brutally tortured and
shot multiple times from close
range. His limbs were disfigured
due to the inhumane torture.
Jasim Uddin Hawladar was
arrested on his way home:
Md. Jasim Uddin Hawlader (23)
was sixth son of Abdur Razzaq

Hawlader. Being a student of

Kazipara Siddiquia Fazil Madrasah,
he had just appeared in the Fazil
final exam and was waiting for his
result. He had outstanding academic results in his previous
exams. Police arrested him while
returning to his residence on
February 07, 2015. Later on he
had been killed in cold blood by
members of law enforcing agencies under so called "crossfire" at
night in Aagargaon, Taltala. His

dead body was found in the

Dhaka Medical College Hospital
morgue.

Crossfire, gunfights and shooting

innocent people are nothing new.
However, this such extra-judicial
killing gained a new dimension
after the BNP-led 20 party alliance lauched the latest spate of
demonstration continuous
blockade and occasional hartal
since 6 January.

Avijits murder: Government hand discovered

Dhaka: Information Minster

Hasanul Haq Inu and other fellow
bloggers were behind the killing
of Avijit, according to a details report published on Newsbd7.com,
an online Bangladeshi news portal. In an evidence-rich, indepth
invesigative report the portal satted that, initial planning for the
killing of Avijit took place in the
house of Arafat A Rahman, a lecturer of the Independent University. In the meeting, Information
Minster Hasanul Haq Inu and
owner of 71 TV Muzammel Haq
Babu were also present. Mahmudul Haq Munshi, leader of a
faction of Ganajagoron Manch
told Bdnews7 that Avijit was
killed according to the directive
from the the ministry of information. He vowed to unveil the full

truth at a convenient time. He

said that fear for his life is prohibiting him to reveal the truth
now.

Detail plan for killing took place

in a subsquent meeting at TSC of
Dhaka University where, Mesbah
Kamal, Anwar Hussain, Bappaditya
Basu, Samsul Islam Suman, Jayadev
Nandi, Ershadur Rahman Chowdhury, Omar Sharif, Arif Jebtik
and some members from the
army. Former colonel Tahers
brother Professor Anwar Hussain
maintain the liason with the army.

According to a CCTV footage

confirmed by RAB two blogers
namely Arif Jebtik and Amy Rahman Piayal were present prior to
the killing of Avjit throughout the
evening.

Soon after the killing of Avijit, Jamaat condemned the attrocity.

However, media and government
strated a chorus blaming Jamaate-Islami and other Islamic outfits.
Immidiately after publication of
this sensational behind the scene
story of Avijit killing, the Jamaat
demanded that a full invesigation
should be carried out on Avijit
killing under the supervision of a
UN commission.

The killing of Avijit can be

comapred with the killing of the
opposition leader of Russia, who
was most probably killed by Putin
himself and later he formed an investigation team and announced
that the investigation will continue under his supervision.
Similar thing may happen if no in-

dependent inquiry take place to

find out the real culprit behind
the Avijit killing. As Hasina has a
long history of ordering murder
to divert the political flow.

Avijit killing took place at time

when Sheikh Hasinas government was fwas on the brink of
collupse and severely criticised in
home and abroad.

Caught red-handed
page 6

The lying Awami Minster

The visiting delegation from

the European Union has expressed their disgust at the
remark of the State Minister
for Foreign Affairs Shahriar
Alam in which he claimed
that the European Union has
expressed no concern over
the human rights situation in
Bangladesh.

Shahriar Alam claimed with

regards the visiting delegation
while addressing a press conference at his Ministry on

Wednesday the 18th February after holding a meeting

with the delegation.

The head of the visiting EU

delegation, Cristian Dan
Preda, expressed their particular dissatisfaction regarding
the Foreign Ministers remarks to the press following
their meeting with the National Human Rights Commission Chairman, Dr.
Mizanur Rahman, this morning.

Daily Star reported Christian Dan

Predas rebuke to the state minister
as Top Quote with this photograph
of Mr. Pedra the next day

Quoting a report of the Ministers remarks from an English daily to the media, Dan
Preda rejected the remarks
stating, I saw in The Daily
Star the declaration of State
Minister Shahriar Alam saying
I quote EU team not concerned about human rights
situation and my declaration
is very simple: We are here
because we are very concerned about human rights
situation.

Independent report concludes

ICT is flawed and below

international standard

February 17: An independent

report by Geoffrey Robertson QC into the proceedings
of the International Crimes
Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh
was recently published. The
report is the first of its kind
and concludes that the Tribunals Procedures fall seriously short of international
standards.

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales

published the report on their
site. The views within the report do not necessarily reflect those of the BHRC.

Geoffrey Robertson QC followed up the report with a

press conference on 17 February 2015, where he highlighted a number of the key
concerns highlighted by the
report. Acknowledging that
1971 was too early for international justice he noted
that an unhappy and questionable series of events surrounded the trial and
execution of prisoners at the
Bangladesh ICT.
According to the 126-page
report, the major concerns
about the ICT are that the
Tribunal lacks impartiality, it
allows for the death penalty
to be imposed without providing a higher standard of
procedural safeguards, it per-

mits trials in absentia and

there are concerns about witness tampering and intimidation.

Further, the Tribunal appears

to have no rules about admissibility of evidence: many of
the convictions have been
based on hearsay, and in effect, on guilt by association.
The Tribunal does not provide
the basic guarantees required
by international human rights
treaties; the rules about providing adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence
have been consistently
breached, and most notably,
defendants are excluded from
enjoying the constitutional
protections available to all
other Bangladeshi citizens.

The detailed report describes

how the war in 1971 in East
Pakistan started with mass
killings of many hundreds of
thousands of Bengalis, accompanied by widespread torture
with rapes designed to affect
the ethnic balance and the
subsequent exodus of millions of refugees. At the end, a
few days before Pakistans
foreseeable surrender came
the most spiteful killings of
the professionals, teachers
and community leaders who
might have made a contribution to the nascent state of

Bangladesh.

In 1973, the International

Crimes (Tribunal) Act, drafted
with the assistance of the International Commission of Jurists, established a procedure
and a court for trying those
accused of the crimes committed in the course of the
1971 attack on East Pakistan.
It was not until 2010, after
the Awami League had won
the elections, that the Act
was reactivated, amended and
brought into operation with a
tribunal.

A number of men associated

with the Jamaat-e-Islami, a
democratic political party
whose leaders in 1971 supported the Pakistani army and
opposed independence, were
immediately detained for a
lengthy period before being
charged variously with genocide, crimes against humanity
and war crimes: they were all
convicted in the course of
2013 and most were sentenced to death. The trials
continue today in relation to
other accused and suspects
are still being arrested.

According to Geoffrey
Robertson QC during the
press conference earlier
today, we now have this paradox that although the court

was set up entirely properly

for a legitimate objective we
seemed to have reached a
stage where what it is doing
is ordering the execution of
the governments main opponents.

The trials have been accompanied by violent mass

demonstrations, both by
Awami League supporters
who demanded death sentences for all accused, and by
Jamaat supporters who
demonstrated against the
judgments of the Tribunal.
Protests came also from foreign governments and human
rights organisations, as the
Bangladeshi government has
eschewed all offers of international assistance, including
that of UN legal advisers, because this help was contingent upon abandoning the
sentence of death and on
sticking to international fair
trial standards.

The report concludes with

the finding that the ICT is
flawed, and that the only resolution is for the UN Security
Council to develop an ad hoc
international tribunal to hear
the cases and to hold the primary perpetrators of the
1971 genocide, the senior officers of the Pakistan army, accountable for their actions.

Editor: Ahmed Kamal. Published by Sadek Abdullah on behalf of Centre for Bangladesh Studies, London
117 Mile End Road, London E1 1DT. Email : info.centreforbangladesh@gmail.com