Extrajudicial killings on violating High Court ban
Extrajudicial killings in reported incidents of crossfire or gunfight go unabated in violation of a High Court order passed in 2009 to stop such killings while four High Court rulings questioning such killings have been awaiting disposal for long, even 14 years in two cases.
From 2004 to July 31, 2020, at least 3,204 people were killed in reported crossfires or encounters or gunfights, according to rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra’s annul reports and Bulletin 2020 posted on its website.
The bulletin said that 207 people were subjected to extrajudicial killings in 2020 until July 31.
Supreme Court lawyer and rights activist Shahdeen Malik told New Age on Friday that government law officers’ indifference and lack of interest in taking steps for the disposal of the rulings meant that it was a government policy decision to carry out extrajudicial killings as means to improve law and order.
On December 14, 2009, the HC bench of Justice AFM Abdur Rahman and Justice Md Emdadul Haque Azad asked the authorities not to kill any more people in ‘crossfire’ or ‘encounters’ until the hearing in the November 17, 2009 ruling.
The court passed the order as attorney general Mahbubey Alam sought time for the hearing in its ruling asking the government to explain the legality of the killing of two brothers, Lutfor Khalasi and Khairul Khalasi, said to be regional leaders of Sarbahara Party, in ‘crossfire’ on November 16, 2009 in Madaripur.
Passing the order, the court mentioned that it had counted 11 extrajudicial killings by since the issuance of the ruling.
Ain o Salish Kendra, an intervener in the ruling, submitted to the High Court on the day a list of 1,057 ‘crossfire’ deaths occurred from 2004 to November 17, 2009. It also mentioned that the brothers were in Rapid Action Battalion custody.
No ‘crossfire’ death had, however, been reported until January 9, 2010 after the imposition of the High Court ban on extrajudicial killings on December 14, 2009.
After the ban, the first ‘crossfire’ death was reported on January 9, 2010 two days after the hearing on the ruling became uncertain following a reshuffle of the High Court benches.
The ruling is still pending with the High Court.
Even a ruling issued by the present chief justice, Syed Mahmud Hossain, in 2009, when he was a HC judge, questioning the extrajudicial killings is yet to be heard.
On June 29, 2009 the HC bench of Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Quamrul Islam Siddiqui issued the ruling asking the government to explain why such killings would not be declared illegal and why people responsible for such killings would not be brought to criminal proceedings and departmental proceedings.
The ruling was issued after hearing a public interest litigation jointly filed by rights organisations Ain o Salish Kendra, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust and Karmajibi Nari.
Petitioners’ lawyer Saifur Rashid told New Age on Friday that the government was yet to reply to the ruling.
The government is yet to reply to similar rulings the High Court had issued, said lawyers concerned.
The High Court first came up with a ruling questioning ‘crossfire’ killings on May 25, 2006.
In the ruling, the bench of Justice M Awlad Ali and Justice Zinat Ara asked the government to explain why the killing of one Tunda Ismail, who was in fetters in police custody, should not be properly investigated and why the offenders should not be brought to justice.
Tunda Ismail, arrested in an arms case and remanded in police custody for interrogation, was killed in ‘crossfire,’ as claimed by the police, at Lalbagh on May 22, 2006.
The court passed the order in response to a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Mizanur Rahman seeking enforcement and protection of fundamental rights.
His counsel M Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan said that the government was yet to reply to the ruling.
The High Court bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Mamnoon Rahman on August 6, 2006 issued a ruling asking the government and the Rapid Action Battalion to explain why they should not be directed to ensure the security of the people detained in their custody.
The court issued the order after hearing a writ petition filed by rights organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
The petitioner’s lawyer Manzill Murshid told New Age on August 13, 2020 that the government was yet to reply to the ruling.
Manzill said that the court had asked the government to stop killings of people in ‘crossfire’ but recalled the order following the then attorney general’s assurance of stopping recurrence of such killings.
‘The court and the government should come forward to stop extrajudicial killings,’ he said.
Attorney general Mahbubey Alam said that the writ petitioners concerned needed to take initiative for the disposal of the rulings.
‘The government will submit their explanations when the courts would fix a date for the hearing of the cases,’ he said.
About the ruling issued suo motu, Mahbubey Alam said that Ain o Salish Kendra as intervener should move the court for the hearing of the ruling.
Ain o Salish Kendra chairperson ZI Khan Panna, also a Supreme Court lawyer, said that they would try to get an expeditious disposal of the rulings on extrajudicial killings, but the government should come up with filing its replies so that the court could fix a date for hearing.
Of the 3,204 ‘crossfire’ killings, 2,140 occurred in 13 years between 2004 and 2017, according to the Ain o Salish Kendra annual reports.
According to the annual reports, the number of such killings was 114 in 2004, 320 in 2005, 246 in 2006, 128 in 2007, 139 in 2008, 110 in 2009 in 133 in 2010, 110 in 2011, 91 in 2012, 72 in 2013, 128 in 2014, 192 in 2015, 195 in 2016, 162 in 2017. 466 in 2018
According to rights organisation Odhikar, 466 people became victims of extrajudicial killings, the highest in a year, in 2018.
It documented 391 extrajudicial killings in 2019.
Ain o Salish Kendra bulletin said that 207 people were subjected to extrajudicial killing until July 31, 2020.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
