58 Alleged Deaths by Law Enforcement Officials in 2014

April 16, 2014 - Death by Law Enforcement, Slider, Statistics on Human Rights Violations, Uncategorized - no comments
  • 58 People have lost their lives due to torture or death cause by Law Enforcement Agencies.
  • 54 People were killed by ”Crossfire”, 33 without arrest and 21 in Custody

”Ain o Salish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal said extra judicial killing, widely known as crossfire by the law enforcement agencies, was one of the barriers in establishing good governance in the country. Such type of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearance must be stopped immediately, she added”   See Full Story

Cases in 2014

  1. 2 Killed in ”Gunfight” in City House.
  2. Murder, Extrajudicial Killings on the Rise – Post Election 
  3. Opposition Men Fall Victim to Extra judicial Killing 
  4. Sultana Kamal: Crossfire, a threat to humanity and good governance 

Alleged Death by Law Enforcement Agencies Q1 2014

State Responsibility

In the Universal Periodic Review of Bangladesh, held on 29 April 2013, United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister of the Bangladesh government at the time claimed the government had a ”Zero Tolerance” policy on human rights violations by law enforcement officers.

The Minister also claimed that there is no scope for impunity for Law enforcement agencies under Bangladesh laws and the Codes of Conduct and Rules of Engagement of the concerned agencies. Any incident of human rights violation or use of excessive or firearms is subject to investigation, prosecution, legal and disciplinary actions. The Minister reported that 1,678 Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members have so far been subjected to prosecution and conviction, including imprisonment and dismissal.

The government were  made numerous recommendations by member states to undertake further steps to effectively investigate alleged human rights violations by Law Enforcing Agencies and to bring to justice to police or other security personnel who were allegedly engaged in acts of brutality and torture

In a National Seminar (see details)  the Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB) held on 29 July 2013 with Government representatives, HRBF made the following proposals for the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) :

  • GOB should acknowledge the incidents of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances and provide clear commitment and procedure to hold those accountable. GOB should also provide time-bound commitment to bring legal reforms to address those human rights violations.
  • GOB should make commitment specifying the process of establishing an independent commission to ensure transparent and accountable investigation and prosecution of alleged human rights violations by state as well as non-state actors, and reparations for victims.
  • GOB should commit to initiate both criminal and departmental proceedings immediately after the allegation of human rights violation by LEAs.

There has been no response from the government since.