The Gurdian on Bangladesh Human Rights Violation on Member of Parliament

S. Q. Chowdhury Kisses his granddaughter while he was being taken back into Jail again from court.

UK faces legal challenge from family of Bangladeshi allegedly tortured by 'death squad'

Lawyers acting for the family of MP Salauddin Chowdhury claim the British government was complicit in his alleged torture


* Matthew Taylor
* guardian.co.uk, Friday 31 December 2010 19.24 GMT
* Article history

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) received British training in 'investigative interviewing techniques'. Photograph: Abir Abdullah/EPA

The British government faces a legal challenge over allegations it was complicit in the torture of Bangladeshi MP Salauddin Chowdhury, who was arrested by the country's security forces earlier this month.

Lawyers acting for the 63-year-old's family claim the training provided by British forces to Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion [RAB], which arrested Chowdury, places the UK in breach of its obligations under international law.

RAB members have been held responsible for hundreds of extrajudicial killings since the unit was established in 2004. The unit itself admits to being responsible for more than 600 deaths, which it euphemistically attributes to "crossfire".

Details of British support for RAB were revealed in US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks and reported by the Guardian. They show that Britain has been providing training in "investigative interviewing techniques" and "rules of engagement".

According to Amnesty International, Chowdury was detained and tortured by RAB officers and Bangladeshi intelligence officials at an apartment in the Banani district of Dhaka on 16 December. His captors are alleged to have brought with them a number of torture implements and a doctor, who is alleged to have revived him three times after he lost consciousnes. The mistreatment is said to have included applying electrodes to his genitals, beating him, slitting his stomach with razors and twisting his toenails and fingernails with pliers.

According to Amnesty, Chowdury was initially arrested for questioning over an arson attack in which a person died, and was then reported to have been charged with offences allegedly committed during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence. He is now being held in prison in Bangladesh.

Today his son, Fayyaz Chowdury, called on the British government to intervene.

"The UK government is up to its neck in this case having provided practical and financial support to RAB who are responsible for my father's ill-treatment. I am a British national and they must now intervene to secure my father's immediate release from prison and a binding undertaking from the Bangladesh government that he will not be subjected to any further torture and ill-treatment or a patently unfair trial."

The Foreign Office has defended the training offered to RAB as "fully in line with our laws and our values". A spokesman sought to suggest it was providing only "human rights training" for RAB, although RAB's head of training told the Guardian he was unaware of any human rights training since he was appointed last June.

Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, which is bringing the legal challenge on behalf of Fayyaz Chowdury said: "The UK government owe the clearest of international obligations to my client, a British citizen, in circumstances where they are complicit in the torture of people like Mr Salauddin Chowdury. These obligations reflect international law principles that prohibit states from aiding and assisting other states in international crimes such as torture and extrajudicial executions. The UK government must use all means at their disposal to secure the immediate release of my client's father and to ensure that he cannot face a kangaroo court for war crimes that he did not commit."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/31/bangladesh-britain-legal-challenge-torture?INTCMP=SRCH

MP tortured by security forces in Bangladesh

22 December 2010

Amnesty International is calling on the Bangladeshi government to immediately investigate allegations that a MP for the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has been tortured while in police custody.

Bangladeshi security forces have tortured Salauddin Quader Chowdhury during interrogations, Amnesty International has learned. This has included applying electrodes to his genitals, beating him, slitting his stomach with razors and twisting his toenails and fingernails with pliers. There are fears that he may face further torture or other ill-treatment.

“The Bangladeshi government must ensure that Salauddin Quader Chowdhury is protected and treated properly and that these very serious allegations of torture are investigated,” said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International’s Bangladesh researcher.

“In particular, the authorities must ensure that he has access to the necessary specialist medical attention, including by independent doctors.”

Chowdhury was arrested on 16 December in connection with a case in which a private car was set alight in Dhaka on 26 June, killing a passenger. On 19 December, the International Crimes Tribunal, a Bangladeshi court, issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

According to reports received by Amnesty International, a combined force of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch (DB) police, and the Directorate-General Foreign Intelligence (DGFI) arrested Chowdhury in the early hours of 16 December at an apartment in the Banani neighbourhood in Dhaka.

Family members who were allowed to see him earlier today, told Amnesty International that Chowdhury reported that security forces came prepared with torture equipment as well as with a physician, and proceeded to torture him for several hours.

He told his family that he lost consciousness three times during the ordeal, and the doctor present revived him. However, when his condition deteriorated under interrogation, he was taken to the Bangabandhu Medical Hospital for treatment.

Video footage from the hospital grounds show Chowdhury weak, in pain, unable to walk on his own and with an apparent blood stain on his shirt.

After an hour in the hospital, Chowdhury was reportedly taken to headquarters of the Detective Branch of the Police (DBHQ), where he was subjected to further torture, including with electric shocks.

Family members who saw Chowdhury earlier today told Amnesty International that his genitals and nose were still bleeding, there were cut marks on his stomach and bruises all over his body. They said that he was very frightened for his life.

The police have said that he was taken to hospital to be treated for an asthma condition. The Inspector General of Police has denied that Salauddin Quader Chowdhury has been tortured.

Torture is widespread in Bangladesh, particularly during police interrogations.

“Given the detailed information provided by the family and the media, the possibility that Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was tortured must be taken seriously and the possibility that he may face further torture or other ill-treatment cannot be ruled out,” said Abbas Faiz.

Today the Court has ordered him to be placed in Dhaka Central Prison pending proceedings in his trial. According to Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s family, he has not been allowed to meet his lawyers since his arrest, and was not present at the Court during today’s hearing. Instead, he was kept in the holding cell downstairs, where six members of his family were allowed to see him, under Court orders.

Chowdhury is 63 years old. He has suffered three heart attacks and has several cardiac stents.

“Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the allegations, and considers the reported torture of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, as of any other human being, wholly unacceptable,” said Abbas Faiz.

“The government of Bangladesh is obligated under international human rights law, to protect all persons under its jurisdiction from torture and other ill-treatment at all times.”

Main Article: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/mp-tortured-security-forces-bangladesh-2010-12-22

BNP M. P S. Q. Chowdhury's foot fingers are torne and his ears are bleeding