BANGLADESH: Police attack on a peaceful assembly of Blue Band Call

January 27, 2012

Mr. Frank La Rue
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: freedex [at] ohchr.org



Re: BANGLADESH: Police attack on a peaceful assembly of Blue Band Call



Dear Mr. Frank La Rue,

I request your urgent intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.



I have been informed by reliable sources about the alarming situation in Bangladesh.

The police stopped a political Facebook group called Blue Band Call from staging a campaign concert in the Banani playground at Dhaka in Bangladesh where around a thousand activists gathered on Friday. The Blue Band Call was holding the programme called ‘Day of Reawakening’ with the slogan ‘We want a Bangladesh based on understanding.’

A police team, led by the Gulshan police officer-in-charge, Shah Alam, had reached the place before the programme began and asked the organizers to stop the concert and to bring down the picture of Mujib.

Police tortured the people gathered for the peacefully assembly and arrested at least seven people from the scene.

According to the information received the ruling government is trying to put a bar on any democratic opposition, debate and demonstration for democracy.

I have also learned that the Political section of National securities of intelligence and special unit of Rapid Action Battalion and a highly trained people DGFI is had made a list of pro democracy activist and monitoring the activities of the Blue Band Call and same initiatives.

The intelligence people were directed to resists the pro democracy movement at any cost.

Such attack on a peaceful assembly and police torture reflects the overall situation in Bangladesh. The chain of command in law enforcement agency had already broken as a result the extrajudicial killings, torture; disappearance is increasing in the absence of rule of law.

In such situation I ask your urgent intervention on the said issue .Please ask the government to insure the security of the political activist of the “Blue Band Call” and immediately investigate the issue of arbitrary attack on the peaceful assembly and illegal detention of political activists.

I thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely yours,

William Nicholas Gomes

William’s Desk

http://www.williamgomes.org