Occupation: Nazmul Imam is a staff reporter with the

national Bengali-language daily Manavzamin, in the

western city of Kushtia.

Background on Nazmul’s Work: In early 2001

Nazmul Imam wrote several reports about the activities

of a criminal gang and a ruling party member of parliament

(MP) who he believed were involved in unlawful activities. In spite of his colleagues warning him of the dangers involved, he continued to write about alleged links between the criminal gang, the police and the MP.

Nazmul Imam wrote a lengthy article detailing allegations of murder, robbery, collection of protection money, kidnapping for ransom, and the link between these crimes and another ruling alliance MP who had a senior government post in Kushtia. On that same day, the government ordered the police to arrest him.

Nazmul Imam told Amnesty International: “The normal course of action for anyone protesting the content of an article in a newspaper is to send a rejoinder to the paper, but this MP did not choose that path. Instead, he kept threatening me.”

Fearing torture, he evaded arrest. However, police reportedly put his family under intense pressure and Nazmul Imam chose to surrender on assurances by the police that he would not be tortured. He was able to obtain release on bail, and continued to write.

He published an article on 19 February 2002 in Manavazamin on the allegation that a local gang leader had received hefty “protection” money from politicians. On 20 February, the gang leader called Nazmul Imam on his mobile phone and talked to him for about 18 minutes. Nazmul told Amnesty International: “In short, he gave me two options: either write another report within two days that would show him to be a good character, or be ready to be killed by his men soon.” He went to the police station to seek protection. He was told by the police to enter a note about the incident in their records, known as a General Diary. He agreed and the police simply filed the note and took no other action.

Attacks: He was first attacked in March 2001 while returning home in a rickshaw. He recognized the voices of the attackers as the people who had been making death threats on the telephone. He managed to evade them and ran to the nearby police station with the attackers chasing him, but they turned away when he entered the station.

He told the police about the attack but did not receive any protection or support despite his request. The same day he received another threatening phone call telling him he would not manage to escape next time.

The context for a second attack against him was the general elections of October 2001 when he wrote an article about rivalry between two groups of BNP supporters who were threatening local people and putting pressure on them to vote for their candidates. The leader of one of these groups, also a member of parliament, reportedly made it known to Nazmul Imam that he was angry with his reporting, and threatened that he would “show” the journalist how to write. The MP gave a press conference in which he refuted the content of Nazmul Imam’s article.

reportedly made it known to Nazmul Imam that he was angry with his reporting, and that he would “show” the journalist how to write. The MP gave a press conference in which he refuted the content of Nazmul Imam’s article.

Nazmul Imam

Nazmul Imam © AI

On 27 May 2002, as Nazmul Imam was travelling home from his office on a rickshaw, six to seven masked men suddenly appeared in front of the rickshaw. He ran away, but slipped and fell on the ground and the men caught up with him. He offered them his wallet and mobile phone straight away, but they were not interested. They told Nazmul to go with them and began pushing him. While he resisted, someone who was standing at a distance told the men to stab him with their knives and make him go. As they came to stab him, Nazmul agreed to go with them and they pushed him to an empty building nearby. They told Nazmul they were going to teach him how to be a good journalist.

One of the attackers pushed a knife against his kidney area. Nazmul tried to stop him, but the men became even more violent. Others joined in. They began to beat him with sticks and stabbed him repeatedly with knives. He received five stab wounds on his shoulder, right thigh, and the right hand and six wounds from the beating including one on his left eye. Nazmul said, “They then cut off a slice of flesh from my thumb and told me this was to stop me from writing.”

His assailants then told him to run away, but he collapsed. He was left there until local people found him and took him to Kushtia hospital. Due to his critical condition, he was transferred to a Dhaka hospital where he received treatment for his injuries for two months. He is still unable to use his thumb and has also developed heart problems.

Legal Redress: Police in Kushtia initially refused to file his complaint. However, following several representations made by his friends and other journalists to the authorities in Dhaka, they ordered the Kushtia police to open an investigation. The outcome of this investigation is not known to Amnesty International, but reports that at least three investigation officers have been replaced suggest possible interference by influential people to slow down the course of justice. Each time an investigation officer is replaced, the entire investigation, reportedly, starts anew.

AI Recommendations to Government of Bangladesh:

• Ensure that all those found to be responsible for the attack on Nazmul Imam are brought to justice promptly and tried in accordance with fair trial standards;

• Ensure that those subjected to attacks, their families, and their witnesses, receive full protection in their efforts to seek justice through the criminal justice system;

• Investigate promptly, fully and by a competent authority every report of death threats against human rights defenders and bring those making these threats to justice;

• Ensure that no one within the criminal justice system acts in connivance with the alleged perpetrators through bribery or negligence;

• Ensure that the police disclose evidence against perpetrators of abuses to the court;

• Ensure that all allegations of human rights abuses including those allegedly perpetrated by members of the ruling party or its allies are investigated promptly by an independent and competent authority and those found responsible are brought to justice regardless of their position in these parties or their links to the government;

• Investigate promptly, fully and by a competent authority every incident of assault on human rights defenders and bring to justice those persons carrying out these attacks, and those instigating them;

• Ensure that no human rights defender is subjected to arbitrary arrest, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

• Investigate fully, promptly and through a competent authority reports of arbitrary arrest and torture of human rights defenders and bring their perpetrators to justice.

BANGLADESH: HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS PROJECT