Extra judicial killing in Bangladeshis are becoming like the breakfast of the rich people or like the lunch of that poor people who eats for a time in a day. Every day in the getting up or in the fast reading of daily newspapers we watch the issue or occurrence was occurred in any place of Bangladesh that is killing by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) or police of terror which is known to us as extra judicial killing.
The security forces are continuing to arbitrarily arrest people, often torturing and then killing them in custody.
On 12 June 2013, a man named Waris Ali, died at Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital allegedly because of excessive torture in police custody in Chhatak upazila of the district.
On May, 22 a youth, Shamim Reza sand trader, died after police had tortured him for his failure to pay the money demanded for his release, said the victim’s relatives.
The magistrate’s inquest report says Reza had marks of injuries in his face, hands and legs. He died of injuries inflicted by beating, sources in the morgue said.
According to a report of Amnesty International, RAB allegedly killed at least 54 people in 2011, bringing the total number of people killed since 2004 when RAB was formed to more than 700. RAB injured or tortured scores more.
In many cases, many family members claimed in different times that victims died after being arrested by RAB and not in an encounter as RAB claimed.
The authorities failed to investigate these incidents credibly. These killings or torture are the clear violation of the fundamental rights and as well as the universal human rights.
If we notice the case of Limon Hossain, aged 16, was shot in the leg by RAB personnel’s in Jhalakathi on 23 March, 2011. RAB officials alleged that he was a member of a criminal gang and that he was injured when RAB officers returned fire after the gang shot at them. Limon Hossain said he was alone, bringing cattle home, when RAB personnel arrested and shot him.
The conclusions of a separate government inquiry never made public reportedly confirmed his claim. The police charged Limon Hossain with trying to kill RAB officers. At last, for the collective movement of all human rights organisations, Limon has freed from all the cases filed by Rab.
All of the human rights organaigations and concern association criticise this extra judicial killing. Extrajudicial killing is an offence which cannot be condoned by any peace-loving people. But this cannot be allowed, because every person has some fundamental rights. Article 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh is intended to protect the fundamental rights. It guarantees the right to life and personal liberty and it is applicable to both citizens of Bangladesh and foreign nationals.
The people of Bangladesh have 23 fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution. The fundamental rights are prescribed in the Bangladesh Constitution Article 26 to 47A.
Extrajudicial killings by law-enforcement agencies are an old story in Bangladesh. In 1972, the paramilitary Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini came into force and it was accused of extra judicial executions until it was absorbed into the army in 1975.
Now, since the formation of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in March 2004, such killings are again on the rise and are being categorised under new terms of "crossfire," "extrajudicial killings," "encounters," etc.
The government tries to justify the killings by using the terms which it refers to often as a gunfight between any suspected criminal group or "unsentimental" criminals and the RAB or police. The term "death in an encounter" is used in other countries to mean the same. But the term "crossfire" is favoured by law-enforcement agencies in Bangladesh only.
Though there is no legal definition of extrajudicial killing, if a death is caused by a law-enforcement official without following the legal rules or due judicial process, it can be called extrajudicial.
"Crossfire" is an extrajudicial execution that is done in defiance of Bangladesh`s Constitution and the international human rights conventions, to which the country is a party. Although some people believe that extrajudicial killing of cynical criminals helps ease the problem of "terrorism," in reality it aggravates the lack of control and "state terrorism."
In different countries across the world, people in power have created a feeling that killing "terrorists" without bringing them to justice can help curb "terrorism." But such extrajudicial killings, in fact, can neither bring peace nor eradicate "terrorism."
In Bangladesh, the law says minimum force should be used to arrest a person and every person has the right to seek a trial. In the cases of "crossfire" and "encounters," however, we see these legal requirements are totally ignored.
Article 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states: "To enjoy the protection of law, and to be treated in accordance with law, is the absolute right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within Bangladesh, and in particular, no action unfavourable to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law."
Article 32 ensures the protection of right to life and personal liberty in accordance with the law. Because of the consequences of such dispossession, the drafters of the Constitution made this specific stipulation of safety, even though these rights were already covered by Article 31.
What is inherent in Articles 31 and 32 is the right to access to justice, and it cannot be said that this right has been dealt with in accordance with the law unless a person has a reasonable opportunity to approach the court with the proof that their right is violated. Even a deserter is entitled to legal defence when the death penalty is involved.
According to Article 35(5) of the Constitution of Bangladesh and Article 5 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." And according to Article 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and personal security."
But, in practice, the government of Bangladesh apparently fails not ensure the right to life or to comply with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Constitution of Bangladesh.
