Extra Judicial Killing and Violation of Human Rights in Bangladesh

Extra Judicial Killing and Violation of Human Rights in Bangladesh

Journalist Md.Nora Alam( Sufi Borshan) from London.

The extra judicial killing and violation of human rights in Bangladesh. Now a day the problem of extra judicial killing is increasing day by day. Now Bangladesh democracy going down and extra judicial killing up rapidly. Extra judicial killing is one kind of crime. This all about Prime Minister sheikh Hasina wajed she is no more democratic, now she is a autocracy.  Any peaceful man does not expect extra judicial killing. It cataract to the judiciary and the new National Human Rights Commission to make sure that human rights are fully imposed, not least with value to allegations of pain and extrajudicial killings by security forces. The main objectives of this study are to know about concept, nature, and recent statistics of extra judicial killing and also are to understand how the extra judicial killing violates the human rights. Its objective is to know about the laws behind the extra judicial killing. In this study, here use secondary data analysis and data are collected from the journals, articles etc. The major findings of this study are in 2010, 127 people were killed by extra-judicially, 101 were killed in ‘crossfire/encounters/gun fights’. And in 2011, 65 persons were killed in ‘crossfire/encounters/gunfights.’ Among the deceased 42 were killed by RAB, 15 by police, 04 jointly RAB and the Coast Guard, 2015 extra judicial killings deaths in custody 192, deaths in by rulings party political violence 151, killing of children 133. These killings are violating the rules of Bangladesh Constitution, UDHR, and ICCPR etc. It gives a bad picture of the country to other countries. So the government must take some necessary steps to stop these killing.

Man is social being. They live in society with some rights. Civilization is thought to have come to a stage when people are supposedly living in a rights-based rational society. In order to consolidate their perceived and real gains in this respect, the State have to create useful laws and relevant institutions. Of the individual rights guaranteed within the constitutional framework of a state, some have been characterized as the most essential or fundamental to our existence as human race. These are universally regarded as birth rights and are inseparable from us, i.e., ‘inalienable’ of human being. Right to life, liberty, conscience, right to freedom of movement and speech, freedom from torture and inhuman treatment are agreed to be the pre-requisite for overall development of a human person including physical, mental, intellectual, cultural and spiritual development. Constraints put up by policies (of stator informal institutions) on the way of accessing these rights would mean constraints in the process of development of human potentials of that particular nation or race. As a poor developing country, Bangladesh unfortunately faces a lot of such constraints.

One of the major concerns of the country today seems to be violation of the fundamental rights and Human Rights of its citizens. Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled."Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.

Respect for each individual human life and human dignity can be found in most of the world religions and philosophies. Human right don’t need to be brought, earned or inherited, they are called ‘inalienable’ because no one has the right to take them away from another for any reason. Human right mainly concern relationships between individuals and the state. They control and regulate the exercise of state power over individuals, grant freedoms to individuals in relation to the state, and they require states to satisfy the basic human need within their jurisdiction.

Extra judicial killing is unethical. Because every person has the right to get proper judgment. Although extra judicial killing reduce crime but it is not acceptable. Because many general people are killing for this type of killing. Another name of extrajudicial killings is Crossfire. Killings by law enforcement agencies are common in Bangladesh. In 1972, the paramilitary group Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini came into force and had become renowned for its extrajudicial executions until it was engaged into the army in 1975. Now, since the formation of the selected Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in March 2004, such killings are again on the rise and are being categorized under a new terms of “crossfire,” “extrajudicial killings,” “encounters,” etc. The government tries to justify the killings by using the term “crossfire,” which it refers to as gunfights between any suspected criminal group or “unsentimental” criminals and the RAB or police. The term “death in an encounter” is worn in other countries to mean the same thing, but the term “crossfire” is favoured by law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh. The evil suggestion associated with the word demonstrates the total weakness of the people facing extrajudicial killings that are taking place in Bangladesh.

Though there is no legal definition of an extrajudicial killing, if a death is caused by a law enforcement official without following the legal rules or due judicial process, it can be measured extrajudicial.

“Crossfire” is an extrajudicial execution that is in deliberate defiance of Bangladesh’s constitution and the international human rights conventions of 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 encourages lack of control and aggravates “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 a perfect world there would be no need for the police. Sadly we live in imperfect, we find it to difficult to live together, and the police are a vital part of modern society. We need them to prevent and protect crime, to maintain social order, to protect human rights etc. But policing is at heart of a broad spectrum of human rights discourses. This has been apparent for many of those working on civil and political rights who have generally targeted police as human rights violators. . “Security forces committed numerous extrajudicial killings. The police, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) used unwarranted lethal force. Although there was a decrease in the number of killings by security personnel, nearly all incidents received only administrative investigation. According to local human rights organizations, no case resulted in criminal punishment, and in the few instances in which charges were levied, punishment of those found guilty was predominantly administrative. In this paper it is trying to show the violation of human rights in case of extra judicial killing. This is a secondary data analysis. These data are collected from secondary sources like journals, newspapers, books, and Human Rights reports .

Statement of the Problem:

Bangladesh started its journey as an independent country with constitutional and political commitment to safeguard the human rights for all its citizens. Unfortunately, what we have been witnessing over the years is a serious disregard for this commitment without any exception whether the country was ruled by a ‘democratic’, ‘military’ or ‘civilian-military’ government. Lack of respect for democratic norms and values, denial of space for opposing political views, and marginalizing the weaker sections of the society (religious and ethnic minorities, extreme poor such as slum dwellers, etc) have created the conditions that allow different state organs and powerful sections of the society to violate human rights more or less on a routine basis, without any accountability. There are laws against all kinds of human rights violations but the policing and justice systems are weak and often subservient to the government of the day. The ‘violators’ in most cases go scot-free because they either belong to the ruling party/clique or have enough money and influence to escape the net of justice. Now-a-days law enforcement agencies are being poppet of the government. Here the government does not take any investigation about the extra judicial killing because some time government does this for their own gain.

There is no legal definition for ‘extra-judicial killing’. Death delivered by a member of the law enforcement agency that cannot be accounted by law or the Constitution and therefore, falls outside legal rules or judicial process may be termed ‘extra judicial’, or literally murder by the State agencies.[ Odhikar Annual report 2006]

Some examples of extra judicial killing are giving here:

•             On April 4, 2011, at around 2.30 am, Mohammad Shafiqul Islam (45), former Chairman of Ziarkandi Union Parishad under Comilla district, was shot dead by members of the Crime Prevention Company (CPC)-1 of RAB-11. The family of the deceased alleged that he was shot dead by RAB at ChhotoKaramerchorDakshinpara village under AraihazarUpazila in Narayanganj after being picked up from Demra in the capital, Dhaka,

On April 21, 2011 a medicine seller named MoniruzzamanRubel (28) died in police custody at Tangail. MoniruzzamanRubel, son of DelowarHossain of Beparipara at Tangail along with his friend Shariful Islam were arrested on April 20, 2011 by Sub Inspector MosharafHossain and taken to Tangail Police Station. Elder brother of Rubel, IqbalHossainRussel, alleged that Rubel and Shariful were tortured in police custody and Rubel died as a result. On April 22, 2011, a murder case had been filed with Tangail Police Station by the deceased’s bother IqbalHossainRussel, accusing Sub Inspector MosharafHossain and Assistant Sub-Inspector Shahjahan. The accused have been arrested under this case. [Jahangir AlamAkash, 2010]

The barbaric practices of extra-judicial killings and custodial torture have existed and still exit in many countries of the world. In Bangladesh, these practices started right after the country’s independence and have continued till today, with different intensities at different times. The elite ‘RAB’ was formed by the last BNP government in 2004 to fight serious crimes along with the police forces. They were successful to some extent in their stated missions including the arrests of some notorious militants and criminals, but in many cases they were alleged to have tortured detainees and killed many suspected criminals and extreme ‘left-wing’ activists without any trial (‘cross-fire’, ‘encounter’, ‘shootout’, or ‘gunfight’). This unlawful practice reached a new height during the caretaker government which was mainly a semi-military regime (2007-2008), and this has also continued during the present AL government.[ Dr. K. M. A. Malik 2010]

Human rights are the rights of human that a human gets by born. These rights are protected by the constitution and other international declaration like- UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR etc. But now-a-days human rights are violated by many ways. In Bangladesh, the human rights are violated mainly by the extra judicial killing of the offender by law enforcement agencies. They violate the rights of the accused. Some of such rights are describe here according to Bangladesh Constitution, UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR.

According to Article 32 of BD constitution, Article 3 of UDHR, Article 9 of  ICCPR, and Article 9 of ICESCR, No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.

According to Article 35 of BD constitution, Article 5 of UDHR, Article 7 of  ICCPR, and Article 5 of ICESCR, Protection inrespectof trial and punishment.  According to Article 33 of BD constitution, Article 9 of UDHR, Article 9 of  ICCPR, and Article 8 of ICESCR, Safeguards as to arrest and detention.

Today in the case of extra judicial killings, the law enforcement agencies do not follow these rules and violate the human rights. For this reason, it is become a big problem for the country.  According to the human rights forum ‘Law and Salish Centre’, during the first year of AL rule (January – December, 2009), total 229 persons were killed by crossfire. The other organization ‘Odhikar’ puts the number of extra-judicial killings by law enforcers at 154 for the same period. Of these people, “41 were reportedly killed by RAB, 75 by police, 25 jointly by the RAB-Police, 3 by Army, 2 by Ansar, 1 by Jail Police and 1 by Forest Guards, 5 were under the custody of BDR and 1 was a coast guard. Of the 154 killed, 35 were killed while they were in custody of the law enforcement agencies.” The number given by ‘Odhikar’ is lower than that cited by the ‘Law and Salish Centre’, but the exact figure, probably much higher than those reported in the media, may never be known. A large number of detainees and prisoners die due to torture during interrogations, but the official version for such death is ‘heart attack’, ‘suicide’ or similar causes!

These Extrajudicial killings have never been a good policy to controls the crimes. Many countries such as India, Srilanka, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand etc. were using this tool to control the environment but over the times they was failed to prove its logics.  In Bangladesh, this policy is cried out when RAB was formed. Primarily it was coming out with some success but over the time it creates the fear among the people due to its unwise, negative uses. In the end which diminishes public faith on judicial system of Bangladesh.

The main objective of this article is to know about the extra judicial killing and violation of human rights in Bangladesh. To fulfil the main object it could be simplified as some section like the following: To know about concept, nature, and recent statistics of extra judicial killing. To know the laws as the weapons of extra judicial killing. To know about human rights of an accused by analyzing UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR, and BD Constitution. To understand how the extra judicial killing violate the human rights. To find recommendation.

Review of the killing literature: LaishramMalem Mangal, 2012; Extra- judicial killings have been a regular and continuous feature in the region since the emergence of insurgency. Whether they are carried out by State agencies or non- state entities is not the concern. The way human life and dignity has been assaulted and killing with sheet and utmost brutality without adhering to any principles of justice is the basic concern. It is the duty of the state through the law enforcing agencies or Police to bring those who violate the law before the Court for judicial determination of rights and liabilities and accordingly, deliver justice.

Jahangir AlamAkash, 2010; At least 16 people were killed in RAB-police's custody since the court issued a order on Nov. 17, last year asking the government for an explanation into such types of killings. The High Court on Dec. 14, last year expressed grave concern over the recurring extrajudicial killings even as 11 people were killed in custody since the issuance of a order on Nov. 17, asking the government for an explanation on the matter. We want to say that the reports of so-called “crossfire” killings, “encounter” killings or “gunfight” killings that are made by the RAB and the police are totally false. We believe that terrorism should never be combated or controlled through state killings. It is the establishment of the rule of law that is essential to control terrorism.

Dr. K. M. A. Malik, 2010; [Extrajudicial killings: the illegal killing of leading political, trades union, dissidents, and social figures by either the state government, state authorities like the armed forces and police or criminal outfits such as the Italian Mafia – Wikipedia]

Murder of journalist  Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi (also known as the Sagar-Runi murder case) is about the unsolved double murder case of two well-known, married Bangladeshi journalists who were stabbed to death for a yet to be determined motive in their Dhaka apartment on 11 February 2012 in Bangladesh. The case is still open and DNA testing showed that it was possible two men were involved in the murder– Wikipedia].

The barbaric practices of extra-judicial killings and custodial torture have existed and still exit in many countries of the world. In Bangladesh, these practices started right after the country’s independence and have continued till today, with different intensities at different times. The elite ‘RAB’ was formed by the last BNP government in 2004 to fight serious crimes along with the police forces. They were successful to some extent in their stated missions including the arrests of some notorious militants and criminals, but in many cases they were alleged to have tortured detainees and killed many suspected criminals and extreme ‘left-wing’ activists without any trial (‘cross-fire’, ‘encounter’, ‘shootout’, or ‘gunfight’). This unlawful practice reached a new height during the Moinuddin-Fakhruddin semi-military regime (2007-2008), and this has also continued during the present AL government.

The methodology is one of the important parts of a study. A scientific methodology is a system of explicit rules and procedures upon which study is based on and against which claims for knowledge are evaluated by looking for new means of observation, analysis, logical inference, and generalization. The methodology which is used in this study to collect relevant information to fulfill the objectives of the study is secondary data collection method. The data used in this report are collected from secondary sources like the articles, journals, internet, and Human Rights reports.

Table-6 reveals that In 2010, 127 people were killed extra-judicially. The data collected by Odhikar shows that on average 1 person was killed extra judicially every 3 days. Out of those killed, 68 were killed by RAB, 43 by the police, 09 persons jointly killed by RAB and police; 03 by the joint operation of RAB and Coast Guard; 03 by the joint operation of RAB, Police and Coast Guard and 01 by BDR.

In this graph, it has been reported that of these 127 reported killed extra-judicially, 101 were killed in ‘crossfire/encounters/gun fights’44. The data shows that RAB took the to position of killing in ‘crossfire/encounters/gun fights. In this graph it has been seen that number of persons killed by RAB Battalions in 2011. Most of the killing is done by Battalion 8.

World Report about Bangladesh: Abuses by the Rapid Action Battalion and Other Forces. Soon after elections in December 2008, officials in the Awami League-led government promised to institute a zero-tolerance policy and bring the perpetrators of extrajudicial killings to justice. Yet little change has taken place, and in 2010 the home minister and other officials denied any wrongdoing by law enforcement agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the elite anti-crime, anti-terror force whose officers regularly kill with impunity. The RAB acknowledges that its officers have killed at least 622 people since the force was established in 2004. But in press statements, the RAB has claimed that the victims were shot and killed in "crossfire" after their accomplices opened fire on the force. The home minister has also supported the claim that RAB officers who have killed were acting in self-defense. In a worrying development, the police appear to have increasingly adopted the RAB's extrajudicial methods, and several hundred killings have been attributed to the police force in recent years. Investigations by human rights organizations regularly find that victims were executed while in RAB custody. The bodies of the dead often bear marks of torture, and many survivors of RAB custody have repeatedly alleged ill-treatment and torture. The chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission recommended in December 2009 that all allegations of RAB killings be investigated by an independent commission of inquiry. At this writing the government has taken no action on this, and not a single member of the RAB has been criminally prosecuted for involvement in torture or killings.

In one abortive attempt at justice, the High Court issued a suomo to ruling calling on the government to explain why action should not be taken against the RAB officers responsible for the "crossfire" killing of Lutfar and KhairulKhalashi in November 2009. However, before a ruling could be issued, the relevant judicial bench was reorganized and the case has not since been heard by the court.[ Human Rights Commission Report2011]

Legal aspect of extra judicial killing: Extrajudicial killing is defined as a deliberated killing not authorized by a previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized people. In the be gaining of the extra judiciary killing, it works well. But day by day it is being away from its mission and some time motivated by the government. Here explain some laws which make these killing lawful:

Right of private defence: According to section 96 to 106 of BPC every person has the right of private defines to protect his life & properties and others life & properties. In this regards a person can cause death or any other harm to the assailant under some certain conditions.

Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: Under Section 54 (S54) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1898, individuals may be arrested under suspicion of criminal activity without any order from a magistrate or a warrant.

Section 86 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinances: Section 86 of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance echoes the provision of section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, Section 54 of Cr.P.C. is applied all over Bangladesh but Section 86 of DMP Ordinance is used for arrests in the Dhaka Metropolitan area only. Special Powers Act 1974:The Special Powers Act of 1974 is deemed by human rights activists and other members of civil society as a repressive law. The use and abuse of this Act in the name of protecting the security of the State has resulted in a steady pattern of human rights violations. The Act provides ‘special measures’ for the prevention of pre judicial activities, for a speedy trial and punishment for grave offences.

Law enforcing Agencies do Crossfire in exercise of their right of private defines.

After each incident an executive inquiry and a judicial inquiry are conducted to find out whether it is justified or any foul play is committed. Human Rights of an Accused: United Nation Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):

This Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 3; Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 5; No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 7; All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 9; No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

These above articles said that every person has the right of life, no one gets the inhuman punishment, all are equal before law, and no one shall be arbitrary arrest. But in the case of extra judicial killing, the law enforcement agencies do not follow any procedures that describe above. So this killing violates the rules of UDHR.

Bangladesh Constitution: Bangladesh Constitution was adapted on November 4, 1972 and came into force on December 16, 1972. Human Rights agenda had been in the free-front in the country’s liberation struggle. The country’s respect for Human Rights and fundamental freedom dates back from the proclamation of independence on April 10, 1971.

Article 32;No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty saves in accordance with law.

Article33; (1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be of the grounds for such arrest, nor shall he be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

(2) Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty four hours of such arrest, excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate, and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the staid period without the authority of a magistrate.

(3) Nothing in clauses (1) and (2) shall apply to any person-(a) Who for the time being is an enemy alien; or (b) Who is arrested or detained under any law providing for preventive detention. Article 35; (2) No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.

(3) Every person accused of a criminal offence shall have the right to a speedy and public trial by an independent and impartial court or tribunal established by law. (4) No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.(5) No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.

(6) Nothing in clause (3) or clause (5) shall affect the operation of any existing law which prescribes any punishment or procedure for trial. Bangladesh Constitution said that nobody shall be deprived of life, no arrested persons shall be detained in custody without being informed, arrested person when detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty four hours, accused of a criminal offence shall have the right to a speedy and public trial etc. But in the case of extra judicial killing, do not follow any one rules of BD Constitution.The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): This Covenant was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966 and entered into force on 23 March 1976. By the end of 2001, the Covenant had been ratified by 147 states. The Covenant elaborates further the civil and political rights and freedoms listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 6;The right to life and survival. Article 9; 1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.

2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.

3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgment.

4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.

5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation. By studying above Articles it can be said that every person have the right to live. If anyone commits a crime, then he or she must be punished by a systematic way. But in the case of extra judiciary killing, it violates all this human rights and being questionable. So the law enforcement agencies when use this power must think legally.

Conclusion: Bangladeshi people have 23 fundamental rights under the constitution. Besides Bangladesh sign many convention on human rights like  UN Declaration on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights etc.In these Constitution and Declaration here have some rights for the accused such as right to life, right to get punishment by proper judiciary process. Extra judicial killing is violated by our constitution. Our constitution does not support extra judicial killing.

Killings by law enforcement agencies are recently came into focus because the problem is getting worse day by day and various Human Rights organizations and they are concern about the political crime , denial of access to justice, tools for imperialism and negligence of Due process, but the trend was introduced years ago in  Bangladesh. In 1972, the paramilitary group Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini came into force and had become infamous for its extrajudicial executions until it was absorbed into the army in 1975. Now, since the formation of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in March 2004, such killings are again on the rise and are being categorized under a new vocabulary of "crossfire," "extrajudicial killings," "encounters," etc.

The State-agents continue to perpetrate numerous extra-judicial killings with impunity. By May 12, 2010, at least 190 persons had allegedly been extra-judicially killed since the present government took office on January 6, 2009. Furthermore, according to the ALRC’s documentation at least 240 extra-judicial killings were allegedly perpetrated in 2004; 396 in 2005; 355 in 2006; 184 in 2007; 149 in 2008; 154 in 2009; and the ALRC had documented 38 such killings so far during 2010 up until May 12, although information about other cases perpetrated during this period continued to be.[ALRC report 2010].

According to the human rights forum ‘Law and Salish Centre’, during the first year of AL rule (January – December, 2009), total 229 persons were killed by crossfire. The other organization ‘Odhikar’ puts the number of extra-judicial killings by law enforcers at 154 for the same period. Of these people, “41 were reportedly killed by RAB, 75 by police, 25 jointly by the RAB-Police, 3 by Army, 2 by Ansar, 1 by Jail Police and 1 by Forest Guards, 5 were under the custody of BDR and 1 was a coast guard. Of the 154 killed, 35 were killed while they were in custody of the law enforcement agencies.” The number given by ‘Odhikar’ is lower than that cited by the ‘Law and Salish Centre’, but the exact figure, probably much higher than those reported in the media, may never be known. A large number of detainees and prisoners die due to torture during interrogations, but the official version for such death is ‘heart attack’, ‘suicide’ or similar causes! The large number of ‘unnatural’ deaths of prisoners accused of BDR rebellion is a case in point. The number of deaths cited in the above paragraph does not include the custodial deaths of BDR prisoners. According to Odhikar documentation, a total of 51 BDR members have died since the February 2009 mutiny till 31 December 2009. Among them, 26 BDR members died while in custody, of which 6 have allegedly died due to torture. Some sources suggest that the ‘unnatural deaths’ of BDR members in custody are close to 100 up to the present time (the investigations and trial process are still in progress). We do not know how many of the thousands of detainees were illegally tortured, but considering the culture of our ‘crime investigators’ one may presume that the number would run into hundreds, if not thousands.

But in our country extra judicial killing is occurred continuously. Bangladesh has a long way to go to live up to its commitments, in both national policies and meeting international obligations," Robertson said. "It is only when its people can live free of fear of torture, repression, curbs on free speech, or politically motivated actions that it can truly lay its claim to being a democratic country." Government must stop extra judicial killing. Because it reduces our international relation. For getting proper judgment we all of us should against this type of crime.

Recommendation: The increasing rate of extra judiciary killing is being a threat of the democracy of Bangladesh.  It violates the human rights. Many people are killed by this way without any judicial procedure. It shows a bad picture of Bangladesh to other countries.. Government must stop extra judicial killing to protect its democracy. Here give some recommendation about this.

•             The government should be active to protect extra judicial killing.

•             The police should be followed the rules of arrest.

•               The police may be allowed to arrest on suspicion only after collecting some relevant material/evidence in support of the arrest without warrant.

•             The police must be required to effectively notify the relatives of the arrestee about the time, place of arrest and venue of custody within the shortest possible time, preferably not exceed 12 hours after arrest.

•             The competent magistrates may be authorized to release an arrested suspect should the arresting police fail to file a case within a specified short period of time, preferably within 48 hours from arrest.

•             The lawyers(s) of the victim’s choice must be allowed to meet him/her as early as possible and stay there during interrogation.

•             Increase public awareness.

•             The government should cooperate with the human rights organization.

•             The investigation of extra judicial killing should done by other person like magistrate not by the police authority.

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Admin News,Extra HYPERLINK "./Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice_files/Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice.htm"-Judicial Killing: Police Covers Up Death Inside Cell As Family Cries For  HYPERLINK "./Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice_files/Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice.htm"Justice HYPERLINK "./Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice_files/Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice.htm"February HYPERLINK "./Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice_files/Extra-Judicial%20Killing%20%20Police%20Covers%20Up%20Death%20Inside%20Cell%20As%20Family%20Cries%20For%20Justice.htm" 14, 2012.

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