Custodial deaths: Law there, victims afraid to file cases

Although the government enacted a law to prevent torture and death in custody of different law enforcement agencies seven years ago, not many cases have been filed under the act.

Experts attribute the reason to lack of comprehensive campaign to make people aware of the law and fearing of the victims or their family members that the law enforcers would harm them.

The first-ever verdict in a case filed under the act is going to be delivered today.

The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act-2013 was formulated as part of the country's commitment to the Committee Against Torture, a UN body of which Bangladesh is a signatory, to prohibit torture or cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment or treatment to anyone in law enforcers' custody and punish the perpetrators.

Law Minister Anisul Haque also highlighted the act as an effective edition to the existing laws in combating torture in custody while presenting a report to the United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT)in July-August 2019, Bangladesh's first-ever since its ratification in 1998.

Experts and right activists said the spirit of the prevention of torture and custodial death law is undoubtedly good, but its implementation is not satisfactory as cases have hardly been filed and judgment is yet to be delivered under the act in the last seven years.

They made the remarks ahead of delivering judgment in such a case.

In January 2014, the case was filed with the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka against a former sub-inspector of Pallabi Police Station and four others over the custodial death of Ishtiaq Hossain Johnny.

Speaking on the issue, Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna said, "The act has been formulated by the government to prohibit torture or cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment or treatment to anyone in law enforcers' custody. But its implication is not found as the victims of custodial torture and families of custodial death victims dare to lodge cases against the law enforcers."

Citing an example, he said a rickshaw-van puller, detained by police on charge of possessing drugs, allegedly killed himself in custody a month ago.

"We requested the victim's family to lodge a case under the act against the police. But they did not dare to do it. So, no case was filed and therefore, no justice was ensured to the victim's family," said ZI Panna, also the chairperson of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a leading rights organisation.

An executive member of Bangladesh Bar Council and a trustee member of Bangladesh Legal Aid, ZI Panna said if the people are made aware of the law, cases will be filed under it and custodial torture and death will be reduced in future.

SC lawyer Manzill Murshid, president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, told this correspondent that some cases have reportedly been lodged under the act. But it takes a long time for investigation, recording witnesses' statements and finishing other judicial procedures in such cases, he added.

He also echoed ZI Panna's views of extensive campaign of the law to make people aware of it.

Another SC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan, also editor of Dhaka Law Reports, said a very few cases have been lodged under the act across the country.

The Daily Star contacted the law ministry to know the number of cases filed under the act so far. An official, preferring anonymity, said they did not have the record of such cases.

THE ACT

The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act-2013 applies to all law enforcement agencies -- not just the police.

The law says any custodian torturing a detainee would be liable of committing offences defined under the law. Again, any person attempting to commit, aiding and abetting to commit, or conspiring to commit an offence must be considered an offender.

The law also stipulates that torture at a time when there was a state of war, threat of war, internal political instability or any public emergency; or on an order of a superior officer or a public authority; shall be unacceptable as an excuse.

Torture by a law enforcement officer is punishable with at least five years' imprisonment and a Tk 25,000 fine, and custodial death due to torture is punishable with life imprisonment and a Tk 100,000 fine. In addition, they must compensate family members of the affected with Tk 200,000.

Meanwhile, 1,426 incidents of custodial deaths took place from January 2017 to July 2020, according to a report of Ain o Salish Kendra.

Of the incidents, 195 were in 2016, 162 in 2017, 474 in 2018, 388 in 2019 and 207 from January to July 2020.

The incidents happened due to "encounters, crossfire and gunfight" with the law enforcers.

The ASK prepared the report based on the news published in different leading newspapers, including The Daily Star and the Prothom Alo.