Shyamali Puvimanasinghe

Jahangir Alam Akash was a promising young journalist in Bangladesh. He was also a human rights activist and attuned to the daily injustices suffered by ordinary people around him, he reported extensively on the problems of extrajudicial killings, torture and corruption prevalent in the region.

This earned him some powerful enemies—both influential state officials and private individuals, who more often than not colluded with each other to terrorize and further disempower an already hapless and suffocating people. But in a country where impunity reined high and systematic rights violations, even in endemic proportions, went unquestioned and unpunished; there was an enormous price to pay.

In the following interview conducted visiting Hong Kong this year, Mr. Akash describes the extent of that price he had to pay.  The unfortunate experiences of this young man give rise to several serious issues—many of which have already been highlighted by AHRC through its Urgent Appeals programme.

However in this interview an attempt is made to afford the reader a rare glimpse into the treatment of detainees at one of Bangladesh’s notorious torture chambers maintained by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as well as the appalling conditions inside a state-run prison. Not, one might add, those reserved for hardened criminals or terrorists, but instead, afforded to an ordinary citizen whose only crime was empathy for his people and the talent with his pen. 

Q: Please give a brief description of yourself?

A: I am Jahangir Alam Akash. I am from Bangladesh. I live in Rajshahi, in the north of Bangladesh, near the Indian border. I have five brothers and three sisters in my family. I am a journalist and human rights activist.  As a journalist I was the Rajshahi bureau chief of the Daily Sangbad national newspaper and the CSB television channel. I was also a freelance correspondent for Deutsche Wella, German Radio. Additionally, I worked for the Bangladesh Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) as regional coordinator in Rajshahi. I studied philosophy at the Rajshahi University and also hold a postgraduate diploma in civic journalism.

Q:  How long have you been a journalist?

A: Since 1989.

Q: Why did you choose journalism?

A: Journalism is a novel profession. As a journalist, I can speak on behalf of the people and be the voice of the voiceless.

Q: Did you always want to be a journalist?

A: Yes.

Part One: Rapid Action Battalion

Q: I am told that due to a certain incident you got into trouble with the Bangladeshi authorities. Can you tell me why they were annoyed with you?

A: You know, journalism is a risky profession—especially in Bangladesh where in the last 15 years more than 15 journalists have been killed. As a journalist and human rights activist I have always tried to uphold the rights of the people. Most of my work concerned rights violations against women and children; and the issue of corruption.

Also, during the past four years, there have been extrajudicial killings carried out by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). I have written several investigative news reports on these incidents and CBS news broadcasted several of my stories during the last year. So I guess, RAB was furious with me.

Q: Can you elaborate on one such incident?

A: On 2 May 2007, RAB attempted to shoot and kill a suspect in his house in front of his wife and young daughter. When I heard about the incident, I visited their home, interviewed the wife, and also took some video footage. I then filed my report with the CBS news, Dhaka office and story was given wide coverage. Thereafter, a one major Rashid from RAB-5 [in charge of the Rajshahi region] called on my mobile phone and threatened me for having reported the story. Immediately I complained to various local and regional human rights organisations including AHRC and the incident was widely publicised.

As a result, the government ordered the police to hold an inquiry into the incident in which I was threatened by the Army major. On the ASP’s request, I visited his office and my statement was recorded.
 
Q: Had RAB threatened you previously?

A: No; but other influential people including local politicians have threatened me. I have also been physically attacked.

Q: At the police inquiry, was Maj. Rashid also required to make a statement?

A: I don’t know. But I do know that after my statement he became very angry with me. I must also mention that during that month of May, I had reported on several other extrajudicial killing in the Rajshahi region—suspected to be carried out by RAB-5. I was the only journalist reporting on these incidents on TV. So this must have further infuriated RAB.

Q: How serious is the problem of extrajudicial killings in your region?

A: Rajshahi is a region that has seen a lot of killings. This is because some political parties and groups outlawed in Bangladesh were suspected to be active in this region. Earlier there were many killings by counter insurgent group backed by the government. I have covered many of these stories within the last few years. However when the state of emergency was imposed in January last year, the military became dominant over all other law enforcement agencies. Actually RAB is a paramilitary force itself comprising of personnel from the police, military and Bangladeshi border security force—seconded to the RAB for three years on much higher salaries. RAB is an anti- terrorist group with the power to kill in the name of ‘crossfire’.

Q: So what did they do to you?

A: They came to my home about 2 a.m. and arrested me before my family and neighbours. There were about 10 to 12 men in civilian clothes. At first, they asked for me by name but did not reveal their identities. When I said, I was Jahangir Alam Akash, they accused me of being an extortioner, terrorist and criminal. They shouted at me in nasty language. They wanted to search my house saying I was a terrorist and had hidden illegal armed in my house. It was only when I challenged them as to why they were not revealing their IDs that they admitted, they were from RAB. 

Q: How long after the police inquiry did they come to arrest you?

A: About three months later.

Q: Then what happened?

A: They assaulted and handcuffed me. They tied a towel around my head and covered my face with a black mask. They then forced me into a micro bus and took me to the RAB headquarters in Rajshahi. Immediately they tied my hands together with rope and hung me from the ceiling; I was kept hanging the whole night.

In the morning—I only imagined it was morning because I could not see—two men lowered me down and gave me a plate with a roti and a glass of water. They lifted the mask up to my nose to enable me to eat. I drank some water and ate a portion of roti. Then I asked to go to the bathroom. The men held me from either side, and took me to the toilet which I was forced to use in their presence. They brought me back and hung me again from the ceiling.

Q: How did your arms feel, after hanging for so long?

A: After a while, I felt that my hands did not belong to my body. Only my toes touched the ground. After two hours, some people came near me and one man insulted me: “you son of a pig—why do you feel so righteous?” I recognised the voice of Maj. Rashid. I asked him why he was using nasty words on me, and he hit me on my face. When I began to bleed, he asked the others to give me first aid.

I was hung by my hands again. Then a ball like device with electric current was swung onto my buttocks repeatedly. I recognised it was some sort of a torture device. The pain was unbearable.
 
Q: Now they accused you of various crimes. Were you questioned regarding any of these alleged crimes?

A: No. They only demanded to know why I reported against them. I replied that I did not report against them; I only reported incidents of human rights violations, torture and corruption. But they did not accept it. While being tortured Maj. Rashid kept threatening me: “Will you still report against us?” He also queried whether I would be reporting against ‘Loton’—an area politician whose involvement in corruption, I had earlier revealed in my reports. 

After receiving electric shocks I became unconscious. When I awoke, I found myself on the floor. A little while later, they forced me into a kind of ‘electric chair’—where I was again subjected to shocks. Then, I was hung from the ceiling once again. Two people—one was Maj. Rashid beat my feet with bamboo sticks. Again I became unconscious. I was lowered onto the floor and felt myself being dragged into another room where the beating bamboo sticks continued for about for ½ to 1 hour.

The torture stopped only when Maj. Rashid received a telephone call and I heard him repeat: “sir, sir”. I lost consciousness again.

I awoke in a dilapidated room and I was lying on straw. Two men told me to stand up. I tried to, but failed because I was injured. They tried to hold me from both sides when Maj. Rashid came and said: “why are you holding him; He is not sick; He is only staging a drama. Let him walk”. He then stood over me and scolding me in filthy language. He sneered that maybe I have seen some action, but not RAB action. So now “We are showing you”, he laughed. I tried to stand up again but fell down. He then came near me, and stamped on my feet with his boots. The injury marks are still visible to date. 

They dragged me along the floor into another room. My fingerprints and palm print was taken. My name was written on a paper, placed on my chest and my photo was taken—like a convicted criminal. I was forced into a micro bus and told never to disclose to the police that I was tortured by RAB. I was warned that if I informed of the torture I was subjected to, I would be killed in “crossfire”.

Q: Did you know what ‘crossfire’ meant?

A: Yes. Everyone does in Bangladesh. [This is a new word in the Bangladeshi dictionary. It means that they could kill me; then claim that I was a criminal and when they came to apprehend me, I opened fire and they were compelled to defend themselves. And in the ensuing ‘crossfire’ I was killed]

Q: At any point was your statement recorded—pertaining to the serous charges you were being accused of?

A: No. no. I was arrested for extortion—a case that I had already received bail from the High Court. Then I was detained under the emergency powers section 16(2).

Later RAB may have persuaded another person to lodge a complaint against me—ironically a person I had earlier published a report as being involved in a rape; and who was convicted with both a jail term and fine. I was taken to court and remanded for these subsequent charges filed against me. Later I was discharged from the case under section 16(2) and was enlarged on bail on the other case on November 19. However, when I returned from jail, I discovered that yet another case had been filed against me.

Part Two—Rajshahi Central Jail

Q: Before being taken to jail, were you medically examined to ascertain physical injuries?

A: There is a legal requirement that before a person is handed over from court to police custody, he had to be checked for injuries by his lawyers and the magistrate. But no such examination was conducted. According to the Jail Code, prison officials too have a duty to examine a detainee before entering prison; any injuries found have to be recorded in the custody warrant.

However I was carried into the jail by fellow prisoners as I was unable to walk from the vehicle into the prison. But no medical examination was conducted. I was simply taken to the prison hospital.

Q: Can you describe your stay in prison? Was your family allowed to visit you?

A: one day each week, my family was allowed to visit me for about 20 minutes. We were not allowed to meet face to face, but had to shout at each other across two wire fences —together with hundred of so other prisoners their families. In law, meeting with lawyers was permissible; but in practice it was not—at least not to people of my status. Maybe for those of political importance or great affluence meeting with lawyers in prison was a possibility. 

Q: Can you give an idea of the prison conditions you experienced?

A: I was in the Rajshahi Central Jail for 28 days. Each prison cell (about 20’ x 10’ in size) accommodated about 120 to 130 inmates. We had mats to sleep on, but we were forced to sleep on our sides to afford space for everyone. Usually, inmates were locked inside the cell the entire day except to bathe and collect food. However, if a visit by a senior official was expected—maybe to inquire about the welfare of prisoners—everyone was let out for the duration of the visit.

There was one toilet for each cell—for all the 130 odd inmates. The toilets were half open; the sewage drain that led out of the toilet was also open to air and ran along the cell. A well for bathing was situated outside the cell. Inmates had to queue up for bathing and each was allowed a limited number of buckets of water.  But the soiled water often found it way back into the well. The food had much to be desired. Breakfast and lunch consisted of roti; dinner was rice served at 5 p.m. so that it had to be kept—besides the overflowing sewage drains—and eaten around 8 or 9 p.m.

Prisoners who were sick continued to sleep side by side with the others as they were rarely removed to the prison hospital. However, if someone’s family could afford to bribe the prison doctors 4000 Taka per month, that person could obtain a recommendation to be admitted to hospital. The hospital was considered more privileged because at least there was a bed and a somewhat improved diet. So those who were rich and healthy bribed themselves into the prison hospital while the sick remained in the cells. 

Normally, the minimum bribe rate was 4000 Taka. As for me, my friends could only afford to collect 3000 Taka; hence I was removed from hospital within 10 days and sent to a cell despite that I was still seriously injured. In fact, a prisoner was expected to pay his way through his entire prison stay. For instance, if one wants an extra roti, vegetables, water or even a cigarette, one had to pay. Even hard drugs were available for a price.

The prison had been built during British times with little improvement done since. Thus buildings were dilapidated and in a precarious condition. I remember when I was in hospital, the toilet on the top floor leaked water onto the patients on the ground floor. Also, though the hospital was allocated certain medicines, the more expensive medicines were always siphoned away. I was also told that if a prisoner was unconscious or in a serious condition, he would be prescribed the most expensive drugs. But he would receive few if any of those medicines.

I was more fortunate than others because I was allocated a place near the corner of my cell—near two windows. This was good because almost all inmates have taken to smoking; so the room was full of smoke. Because of the unhygienic conditions and close contact with each other, people contracted skin diseases and ailments such as chicken pox after leaving jail.

Q: Were there reports of torture or assault in prison?

A: I did not see but have heard of such happenings. For instance, I was told that if prisoners complained about the quality of the food or water they were physically punished by the prison guards. I have also heard that younger prisoners were abused sexually and otherwise, by the more senior prisoners.

Q: Have you ever met with any of the officially appointed jail visitors required to inspect jails?

A: Yes I have seen them—but they came and they went. They didn’t speak to any of us. Actually there was a committee headed by the district magistrate to visit jails. I was waiting to talk to them, but they did not talk to anyone. However before the visitors arrived, jail guards always warned us to ‘beware’—meaning if we were caught saying anything unnecessary ‘we would be dealt with’.

Q: Finally, tell me how this entire incident changed your life and work?

A: For the past six months I have been facing severe difficulties—in both my personal and professional lives. I continue to live in fear. But my biggest problem is financial. You see, before I was arrested I worked for three media institutions. Soon after, CBS news was shut down by the government. The newspaper does not pay regularly—in fact they have not paid my salary—referred to as an honorarium—for the past 18 months.

Additionally, the German radio no longer accepts my news stories; in fact they have stopped communicating with me since. Apparently they have been influenced not to maintain contact with me considering that I have now been targeted by RAB.  This may be to ensure their security.

Personally, I have been constantly pressurised by my in-laws to stop seeking justice against RAB. They tell me to think about the safety of my family first.