FOUR MONTHS INTO STATE OF EMERGENCY, BANGLADESH'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000952 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2017 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM BG SUBJECT: FOUR MONTHS INTO STATE OF EMERGENCY, BANGLADESH'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD STILL A MIXED BAG REF: A. DHAKA 894 ¶B. DHAKA 909 Classified By: Amb. Patricia A. Butenis, reason para 1.4(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. As Bangladesh passes the four-month anniversary of its state of emergency, the human rights record is mixed. According to local NGOs, deaths caused by law enforcement officials, including "crossfire" killings and deaths in custody, have gone down. While there have been many allegations of mass arrests, the actual number of people in custody is only estimated at 15 percent higher than at the end of 2006 (i.e., before the state of emergency). Contrary to some press reports, many of those arrested were only picked up on minor offenses, and were released almost immediately. One major problem is that the watchdog role played by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and journalists has been hobbled by state of emergency restrictions on civil liberties. As a result, it has been left to the international community to press the government and the military to address reports of secret detentions, torture in custody, and harassment of civil society. END SUMMARY. DEATHS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS DOWN ======================================== ¶2. (C) The well-respected local human rights organization Odhikar estimates that there have been, on average, 19 deaths by law enforcement officials per month from January to May, a drop from the nearly 30 deaths per month in 2006. The local United Nations office has corroborated these findings in its own recent human rights review. Contrary to some press reports, there is no evidence of "hundreds" being killed since the state of emergency took effect. ¶3. (SBU) The average monthly number of "crossfire" killings, a euphemism for extrajudicial killings, also dropped in the first five months of 2007, though the number appears to be climbing back to 2006 levels. Like in 2006, most of these "crossfires" were by the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB),with the rest being done by the police and military. ¶4. (SBU) The average monthly number of deaths in law enforcement custody has also gone down from almost 20 per month in 2006 to just under 10 per month in the first five months of 2007. After several widely publicized deaths in March, the number of custodial deaths dropped to zero in �A;April, only to start climbing again in May. PRISON POPULATION UP 15 PERCENT =============================== ¶5. (C) News reports indicate that nearly 200,000 people have been arrested since the declaration of a state of emergency on January 11. Most of those arrested appear to have been picked up on prior charges or for petty crimes, and have been released after only brief detentions. According to the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Shamsul Haider Chowdhury, since the declaration of the state of emergency the prison population in Bangladesh has risen from 72,000 to 83,000, a 15 percent increase. NGOs that monitor prisons, such as the Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR),have corroborated this finding through their own investigations. It is also consistent with what Home Secretary Abdul Karim has told us. SIPDIS ¶6. (SBU) Bangladesh only has a prison capacity of 27,000, and even before the state of emergency its system was nearly 200 percent over its limit. Chowdhury admits that as many as four people are sleeping in a 36 square foot cell, and that prisoners are sleeping in shifts. ¶7. (C) In addition to those officially arrested, there are numerous reports of people being held secretly by joint forces made up of the military, police, and RAB. On May 29, Giasuddin Mamun, a close business associate of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's son Tarique, claimed in court that he had been held secretly for two months, during which time he was interrogated and threatened with a "crossfire" execution. (Ref A) The exact number of those held in secret custody is DHAKA 00000952 002 OF 003 unknown, and the government and military do not admit to holding people secretly. INTIMIDATION OF NGO'S, JOURNALISTS ================================= ¶8. (C) Odhikar reports being threatened by the military for investigating cases of custodial death. On May 3, Naval Intelligence summoned Odhikar Acting Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan to Naval Headquarters. Earlier, at the Embassy's urging, Odhikar had contacted the Navy asking for comment on a custodial death allegedly linked to Navy officers in Bagherat. According to Odhikar, when Elan came to the Naval Headquarters, he was interrogated for five hours, and accused of being an American and Indian spy. The interrogators also threatened his family, adding there would be reprisals and arrests if Odhikar reported the interrogation. Earlier, during its investigation into the Bagherat death, Odhikar reported that its chief investigator was threatened with a "crossfire" by the local Navy camp commander. ¶9. (C) Journalists have also come under pressure. According to numerous media sources, editors from most major newspapers have been assigned DGFI "handlers" who contact them frequently to discuss their coverage. During April, the English-language Daily Star came under the scrutiny of the Directorate General-Forces Intelligence (DGFI) because of an alleged "anti-state" article published in their monthly magazine insert. According to Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam, DGFI forced him to recall the magazine and pulp it. Then, in early May, the author of the piece, Tasneem Khalil, was taken from his home for interrogation. He was released, beaten and scared, 36 hours later. Finally, after Embassy intervention and three weeks of negotiations, his passport was returned and he was granted permission to leave the country. (NOTE: Khalil is now in Sweden.) (Ref B) MIXED RESPONSE FROM GOVERNMENT, MILITARY ======================================== ¶10. (C) We have raised specific incidents with the government and the military, with mixed results. The Chief Adviser agreed in May to set up a special inquiry into the death of Choilesh Ritchil, an indigenous activist who was killed, allegedly by the army, in mid-March. The military has also agreed on several occasions to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by military personnel. While there is no indication of corrective action in any of the high profile cases, privately a military official told DATT that 64 officers and enlisted men have been punished since January 11 for crimes ranging from deaths in custody to corruption. However, the number of law enforcement-caused deaths rose sharply again in May after having plummeted in April, indicating that the effect of international pressure is limited. ¶11. (SBU) The government has not been uniformly receptive to international interventions and has generally done a poor job of explaining its human rights record to the public. In response to a question about recent human rights abuses in Bangladesh, Law Adviser Barrister Mainul Hosein was quoted in a Wall Street Journal piece as saying he was "fed up" with Westerners raising human rights cases with him. "Bangladesh is going through a huge crisis," he said. "Is this a time to discuss individual cases? Individuals are not important." COMMENT: A MIXED BAG ==================== ¶12. (C) The human rights situation in Bangladesh four months after the state of emergency declaration presents a mixed bag. On the one hand, although the number of law enforcement-related deaths is down, this remains a significant problem. Also, when the international community has raised specific cases with the government, there has usually been some effort to respond, Hosein's churlish statement notwithstanding. The government and the military, however, are less responsive to domestic pressure groups, which has increased the importance of international scrutiny of human rights. DHAKA 00000952 003 OF 003 ¶13. (C) Post continues to monitor the human rights situation closely, and will continue to raise issues of concern with the appropriate government officials. BUTENIS