Human Rights report
Press freedom in 2007
At least 86 journalists were killed around the world in 2007. The figure has risen steadily since 2002 - from 25 to 86 (+ 244%) - and is the highest since 1994, when 103 journalists were killed, nearly half of them in the Rwanda genocide, about 20 in Algeria's civil war and a dozen in the former Yugoslavia.
More than half those killed in 2007 died in Iraq
Response of Reporters Without Borders,"No country has ever seen more journalists killed than Iraq, with at least 207 media workers dying there since the March 2003 US invasion - more than in the Vietnam War, the fighting in ex-Yugoslavia, the massacres in Algeria or the Rwanda genocide. "The Iraqi and US authorities - themselves guilty of serious violence against journalists - must take firm steps to end these attacks. Iraqi journalists are deliberately targeted by armed groups and are not simply the victims of stray bullets. The Iraqi government cannot immediately stop the violence but it can send a strong signal to the killers by doing all it can to seek them out and punish them.
At least two journalists arrested each day in 2007
135 journalists were in prison around the world on 1 January 2008 and the figure has hardly shrunk for several years. Those freed are immediately replaced by new journalist prisoners. At least 887 were arrested in 2007, mostly in Pakistan (195), Cuba (55) and Iran (54). "About 30 governments continue to imprison journalists they dislike and rulers who belong to a past era still see this as the only answer to media criticism. We call for the immediate release of the 135 journalists in prison around the world. "Kidnappings of journalists also increased in 2007 and became very common in Iraq and Afghanistan, where several victims were executed by their captors. Governments must fight these crimes by trying those responsible." China (with 33 in jail) and Cuba (24) have been the world's two biggest prisons for journalists over the past four years. Their governments free one every now and then, at the end of their sentences, but others replace them immediately.
Imprisonment is not the only way to gag a journalist and at least 67 media workers were kidnapped in 15 countries in 2007. The worst place to be was still Iraq, where 25 were seized. Ten were executed by their kidnappers. In Afghanistan, two assistants of Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who was kidnapped in March, were killed by their captors. Five journalists were kidnapped in Pakistan, some by security forces, but were later freed unharmed.
More than 2,600 websites and blogs shut down
The governments of China, Burma and Syria are trying to turn the Internet into an Intranet - a network limited to traffic inside the country between people authorised to participate. At least 2,676 websites were shut down or suspended around the world in 2007, most of them discussion forums.
The fiercest censorship was in China before and during the 17th Communist Party congress when about 2,500 websites, blogs and forums were closed in the space of a few weeks. Syria also blocked access to more than 100 sites and online services at the end of 2007, including the social networking site Facebook, Hotmail and the telephone service Skype, all of them accused by the government of being infiltrated by the Israeli secret police.
During the October 2007 demonstrations by Buddhist monks in Burma, the country's military rulers tried to block the flow of news being e-mailed out of the country by cutting off Internet access. Censorship ranged from anti-government sites to all means of communication, including film cameras, ordinary cameras and mobile phones.
Response of Reporters Without Borders, "Some countries censor the Internet as much as they do the traditional media and China is the world champion here. Its cyber-police have been very active before every major political occasion, notably in the months before the 2007 Communist Party congress when about 2,500 websites and blogs, many of them political, were blocked."
Source: Reporters Without Borders.
Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh, 2007
Since 1 January to 31 December 2007, a reported number of 184 people have allegedly been extra-judicially killed by law enforcement agencies.
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Munir uz Zaman/ Driknews |
Breakdown of Extra-judicial Killings by Agency
Of the 184 people killed by law enforcement personnel, as recorded, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) killed 94 people, the police killed 64 people, RAB and police acting together killed 3, the “Joint Forces” killed 7, the Army killed 7, the Navy killed 3, the Jail Police killed 1 person, Coast Guards killed 1 person, Forest Guards killed 1 person, Bangladesh Rifles killed 1 and the Department of Narcotics Control Officers killed 2 persons.
Circumstances of the deaths
Of the 184 people extra-judicially killed, it was reported that 130 people were killed in so-called “crossfire”/encounter/ gunfight/shootout , 30 people were tortured to death, 13 were shot dead in circumstances other than “crossfire”/encounter/gun fight/shootout and there were 11 deaths in other circumstances the details of which are given below.
It was reported that RAB killed 90 people in “crossfire”/encounter/gunfight/shootout. 2 persons were tortured to death while 2 other men, arrested by RAB, later died in hospital.
35 people were killed by police in “crossfire”/encounter/gunfights/shootout. They tortured 14 people to death. The police kicked 1 elderly man causing him to fall, hit his head and die. The police shot dead 11 people in circumstances, other than “crossfire”/ encounter/ gunfights/ shootout. 1 person died in police custody and 2 men who had been arrested by the police later died in hospital. RAB and the police acting together killed 3 people in “crossfire” /encounter/gunfight/shootout. Army allegedly tortured 5 people to death. 1 person died while reportedly trying to escape from an Army van. 1 man who had been arrested by the Army later died in hospital.
It has been reported that the Navy tortured 3 people to death.
The “Joint Forces” allegedly killed 1 person in “crossfire” ”/encounter/ gunfight/shootout. They allegedly tortured 3 people to death. 1 person who had been arrested by the “Joint Forces” later died in hospital. 1 person in “Joint Forces” custody reportedly jumped off a six-storey building and died. 1 person who was arrested by the “Joint Forces” died in a police station.
It was reported that the Department of Narcotics Control tortured 2 men to death and that the Jail Police tortured 1 man to death. The Coast Guard killed 1 person in “crossfire” ”/encounter/gunfight/shootout. The Forest Guard gunned down 1 man and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) shot dead another person in circumstances, other than “crossfire”/ encounter/ gunfights/ shootout.
Other characteristics of the victims
3 people extra-judicially killed were farmers, 1 was a businessmen, 1 a police informer, 2 were bus drivers, 1 a truck supervisor,1 an ethnic minority leader, 1 was a female garments worker, 1 was a housewife, 1 a freedom fighter, 1 was an adolescent tea-stall boy, 1 was an elderly man, 1 was assumed to be a jute mill worker, 1 a rickshaw puller, 1 fruit vendor, 1 fisherman, 1 a contractor of the Department of Roads and Highways, 1 was an unidentified young man and 1 was a person whose profession was unknown.
Of those 184 who were extra judicially killed, some were affiliated with alleged gangster/dacoit groups: Among them 3 people were from Gangchil Bahini, 1 from Masim Bahini, 1 from Haji Bahini, 1from Salam Bahini, 1 person was from Matin Bahini, 1 from Panna Bahini and 1 person was from Lalchand Bahini,1 from Kamal Bahini and another 1 was from the Nur Bahini.
It was alleged that 2 people were arms smugglers, 3 were arms dealers, 1 a gunrunner, 3 were muggers, 1 was a gambler, 1a timber smuggler, 1 a thief, 2 people were drug peddlers,1 was a liquor trader, 2 were under trial prisoner, 1 was a prisoner,1 person was reported as an 'extremist', 1 was an alleged extortionist, 1an alleged Islamic militant, 23 were dacoits and 34 people were alleged to be criminals but there was no information available to Odhikar about the nature of their alleged crimes.
Torture
Allegations of torture continued to dominate the concerns regarding the violations of human rights. At least 44 people have been reportedly tortured by the law enforcement agencies in 2007. Suspects were picked up by the law enforcement agencies, detained, and tortured while they were in the custody of the law enforcement agencies. Another kind of torture happened when people were taken into remand in order to extract evidence to be used against them or others allegedly accused for corruption or crime. On many occasions they were tortured into giving confessional statements . Some were even threatened with death by “crossfire”.
Death in jail
Between 01 January and 31 December 2007 it was reported that a total of 87 people died in jail custody; among them one 10 year old boy was found killed in the Juvenile Development Centre with his throat slit and another one reportedly died in a clash between prisoners. The cause of death of 4 persons was unknown and another 4 person's deaths were reported as unnatural deaths .A further 77 prisoners reportedly died due to illness.
Source: Odhikar.
