Torture and death in custody

Police demand to repeal Act sparks debate

Questions have been raised over the demand by the police to repeal the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act.
Experts say cases of death and torture in police custody might increase if the Act is repealed.
But police officers claim one can file a "false case" against the police because of this law. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) directed filing of a suo motu case against the OC, IO, and the CO without prior investigation.
According to statistics of the Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a legal aid and human rights organisation, 1,302 custodial deaths occurred in the last 10 years. The break-up goes like this: 657 died in police custody, 368 under the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and 277 died while in custody of other forces.
At a talk-show on Independent TV, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) chairman Advocate Sultana Kamal, said law enforcement agencies cannot absolve themselves of responsibility if the dead bodies have marks of torture and injury. “I personally think that the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act will help the police become more responsible,” she added.
The director (investigation) of ASK, Md Nur Khan Litan, said the law protects ordinary people from torture and repression. "There is no question of repealing it. We want its proper implementation. I feel the authorities concerned are yet to use the Act properly,” he added.
He said at least 10 to 12 cases have been filed in the last two years under the Act.
The government enacted the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act in line with the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which Bangladesh ratified in 1998 to prevent custodial torture.
In 2013, Parliament passed the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, aimed at curbing torture of common people in custody.
The law stipulates that the police, RAB, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Customs, Immigration, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), intelligence agencies, Ansar and the VDP, Coast Guard and other public servants cannot extract confessional statement through torture.
It says any custodian of law torturing a detainee would be liable for 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.
According to the law, for any death in custody, the custodian would be awarded rigorous life imprisonment and a fine of Tk. 100,000. In addition, they must compensate family members of the victim by paying Tk. 200,000.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, an Awami League lawmaker, had placed A Private Member's Bill to keep in effect the "Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and For Matters Connected Therewith or Incidental Thereto". The Bill was tabled in September 2009 and finally passed by Parliament as the "Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Bill 2009".
On November 2016, the Supreme Court had issued specific guidelines on two sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) dealing with the arrest of an individual without a warrant and interrogation in custody.
The court had said at that time that it will set guidelines on how to apply these two sections, which provide for arrest without warrant and interrogation in custody, respectively.
During inauguration of the "Police Week" on Monday, officers requested Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to repeal the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act.

Torture and death in custody

Police demand to repeal Act sparks debate

Questions have been raised over the demand by the police to repeal the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act. Experts say cases of death and torture in police custody might increase if the Act is repealed. But police officers claim one can file a false case against the police because of this law. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) directed filing of a suo motu case against the OC, IO, and the CO without prior investigation. According to statistics of the Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a legal aid and human rights organisation, 1,302 custodial deaths occurred in the last 10 years. The break-up goes like this: 657 died in police custody, 368 under the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and 277 died while in custody of other forces. At a talk-show on Independent TV, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) chairman Advocate Sultana Kamal, said law enforcement agencies cannot absolve themselves of responsibility if the dead bodies have marks of torture and injury. I personally think that the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act will help the police become more responsible, she added. The director (investigation) of ASK, Md Nur Khan Litan, said the law protects ordinary people from torture and repression. There is no question of repealing it. We want its proper implementation. I feel the authorities concerned are yet to use the Act properly, he added. He said at least 10 to 12 cases have been filed in the last two years under the Act. The government enacted the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act in line with the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which Bangladesh ratified in 1998 to prevent custodial torture. In 2013, Parliament passed the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act, aimed at curbing torture of common people in custody. The law stipulates that the police, RAB, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Customs, Immigration, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), intelligence agencies, Ansar and the VDP, Coast Guard and other public servants cannot extract confessional statement through torture. It says any custodian of law torturing a detainee would be liable for 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. According to the law, for any death in custody, the custodian would be awarded rigorous life imprisonment and a fine of Tk. 100,000. In addition, they must compensate family members of the victim by paying Tk. 200,000. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, an Awami League lawmaker, had placed A Private Members Bill to keep ineffect the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and For Matters Connected Therewith or Incidental Thereto. The Bill was tabled in September 2009 and finally passed by Parliament as the Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Bill 2009. On November 2016, the Supreme Court had issued specific guidelines on two sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) dealing with the arrest of an individual without a warrant and interrogation in custody. The court had said at that time that it will set guidelines on how to apply these two sections, which provide for arrest without warrant and interrogation in custody, respectively. During inauguration of the Police Week on Monday, officers requested Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to repeal the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act.