NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Issue 6
Preventing Torture Framing the Issue
November 2009
within the fight against terrorism Inside this issue:
Journalists speak out:
Journalists speak out
1
Highlights from an IRCT-FIDH conference Torture and my
On 6 November, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and the International Federation for Human Rights welcomed more than 35 journalists from around the globe to a conference in Copenhagen. The event aimed to support and connect those in the media who report on human rights abuses in the war on terrorism, often at great risk to their own lives. What follows are highlights from the day’s speakers about managing to get difficult stories told. “MAKE SURE THIS HAPPENS” There could be no doubt that the so-called “torture
memos” drafted in the highest echelons of the Bush administration reached all the way to the detention facility at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Five months after the infamous photographs of inmates in humiliating poses were released to the public, U.S. journalist Tara McKelvey began to hear more sinister stories, including that women and children were detained at the facility. McKelvey described how researching their stories was not a straightforward matter; administration officials withheld documents about the detainees, claiming they were state secrets, and what was released was heavily redacted.
McKelvey dug deeper, making two trips to Iraq and speaking to more than 20 ex-prisoners and interrogators from Abu Ghraib. Her research – later published in the book
Monstering: Inside America’s Policy on Secret Interrogations and Torture in the War on Terror – revealed how the abuses came to occur. In bold, capital letters “MAKE SURE THIS HAPPENS” was written on the interrogation guidelines and posted on the walls. Those same techniques, designed for high-level Al Qaeda operatives, were used on women and children as well. It was enough for McKelvey to conclude that “those memos led directly to torture”. “There is no such thing as objective journalism”
Sami Al Haj spoke to the conference attendees about his experience as the only journalist to be imprisoned at Guantanamo.
Erling Borgen comes from Norway, a country that has a reputation for peace building, but that’s a misperception, he told the assembled group. Despite Norway’s disavowal of direct participation in the Iraq war, Borgen – an investigative journalist and filmmaker – found that Norwegian companies have nonetheless played a
journalism: the view from 2 Bangladesh
Recommended resources 3
supporting role in the war. In his documentary film, A little piece of Norway, Borgen revealed how the Norwegian firm Aker Kværner kept the detention facility at Guantanamo running by fuelling aircraft that transported prisoners, and building the water and power supply at the camp. Objectivity, he contended, does not exist in journalism. Instead Borgen stressed the potency of fair and balanced investigative journalism: “Investigative journalism exposes the power that the power does not want exposed.” “Iguanas were treated with more humanity” Sami Al Haj knows firsthand the threats faced by journalists reporting on the war on terror. In 2001, while covering the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan for Al Jazeera, he was detained by Pakistani intelligence officers looking for a different man named Sami. They later accused him of interviewing Osama bin
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Journalists speak out (cont.) Laden and handed him over to American security forces, who detained him first at Bagram in Afghanistan and later, Guantanamo Bay. Al Haj spent more than six years in detention, enduring a variety of abuses and humiliating treatment, from painful shackling and stress positions, to brutal force-
feeding during a hunger strike, to being treated worse than animals: “Iguanas were treated with more humanity than prisoners.” Eventually released without any charges, Al Haj returned to his wife and son in his native Sudan. Now based in Qatar, two projects occupy his time. He heads the Public Liberties & Human Rights desk at Al
Jazeera, dedicated to promoting human rights and documenting violations. Al Haj also has helped to establish the Guantanamo Justice Centre, which aims to help those still detained, assist those who have been released with reintegration into society, and seek justice against those who falsely imprisoned and tortured
detainees. Asked from where he derived his strength during and after his ordeal, Al Haj credited his faith and his profession. “Knowing that I was not alone, that I was not forgotten and that as a journalist I had a mission,” he told his fellow journalists, “to tell the story of those who don’t have a chance to tell it.”
Torture and my journalism: the view from Bangladesh by Jahangir Alam Akash
Jahangir Alam Akash is a Bangladeshi journalist in exile. Below are excerpts from an article he wrote after attending the IRCTFIDH journalists’ conference in Copenhagen. More of this piece can be found on his blog at Human Rights Today Bangladesh: http:// humanrightstoday.info/ Torture is a common feature in Bangladesh. Now torture has become institutionalized. In Bangladesh, it has become common for extrajudicial killings to be sanitized under the names of “crossfire” or “encounter” by lawenforcing agencies. A culture of impunity has also been a common practice by the state since 1975. Here, extrajudicial killings by the joint security forces continue unabated. I experienced torture firsthand while I was detained at an Army camp during the state of
emergency declared by Bangladesh’s military caretaker government from Jan 2007 to Dec 2008. I want to share with you some of my experiences. Every day, the suppression of the media and freedom of speech is becoming more apparent in Bangladesh. In the recent past regime of the Army-backed caretaker government, it was common practice for the joint forces, the Army, and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to torture university professors, journalists and writers, and human rights defenders. No action can be taken against these perpetrators. Personally, I have also been victimized by the recent past authority for my activities as a journalist, writer and human rights activist. I was tortured for 15 hours. My crime was that I made several investigative reports about the RAB’s offenses of extrajudicial killings, Islamic militancy and indigenous and minority torture as well as corruption and political terrorism.
I want to paint a picture of the violation of the rule of law and human rights in Bangladesh. The RAB arrested an alleged terrorist named Benazir on May 2, 2007, on the charges of possession of illegal arms. While arresting him, they shot both of his legs in front of his minor daughter and his wife. Benazir is now crippled with two bullet marks on his feet. The RAB did not find any arms in his possession. When Benazir was shot, it was reported by me on CSB News. None of the RAB personnel who were involved in the alleged operation agreed to give statements in front of a television camera regarding the incident. In a news bulletin at 1:00 a.m. the following morning, the report was broadcast. Then, at 9:33 p.m. that evening, I received a call from RAB officer Major Rashidul Hasan Rashid. As soon as I picked up the phone, the caller asked me why the broadcasting of the news piece about the
RAB’s operation was stopped after being aired only twice. In reply, I told him that “it is up to the head office”. Major Rashid became annoyed with me and said, “You broadcast this report intentionally.” I replied, “It is my professional duty, nothing more than that.” He asked, “Why did you broadcast someone crying and the statements of Benazir’s wife and daughter?” In response, I asked him, “Do you want to know it officially?” At this stage, Major Rashid became very rude. I cannot mention the words he shouted at me in our language, since the language was very bad. He was outraged and said, “If you fail to give the right answer about why you broadcast the report, then I shall take actions against you.” I said, “I have not committed any crime.” Major Rashid asked again, “Why did the other TV channels not broadcast the same report? You did it intentionally and your
Volume 3, Issue 6 actions belong to ‘anti-state activity’.” He also said, “Make sure that you, any of your colleagues, and the CSB News camera are never seen within the jurisdiction and activities of the RAB. If they are, then the RAB will take action against you.” After that, he hung up. I complained to the Asian Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International regarding this threat. Then an investigation was commissioned. After giving a detailed report, I signed my written statement, which was received by the assistant police commissioner on July 3, 2007. The field officer of the National Security Intelligence questioned me regarding the said intimidation and threats on July 15, 2007. Then, on July 22, 2007, Mr. Moyeen, an inspector of the Special Branch of the city of Rajshahi visited my office and took my statement. Inspector Moyeen also asked about the threat I felt, and I replied that the RAB is involved in extrajudicial killings and I feared that I could become the victim of such a killing. I reported that I have been continuing my work, but I still worried that the RAB or his men might target me for further harassment or intimidation. So I became a target. I have been charged multiple times with false and politically motivated charges and have been arrested, tortured and detained. I was arrested from my house at midnight and tortured in front of my wife, child and rental house owners. I was taken to the RAB-5 office. I was hung from the ceiling with my hands tied with ropes and was beaten mercilessly on my
Page 3 feet and my back. I was kept hanging from the ceiling with ropes around my hands, with a mask on my face. And also they gave me electric shocks. RAB sent me to the local police with the charge under the section 16(2) of Emergency Power Rules 2007. I was under medical attention in the Rajshahi central jail for 10 days. As a new detainee, I was sent to the case table in front of the jailhouse’s trial court on my first day. When I went to the case table, two fellow inmates had to hold me on both sides. I had no power to walk. I could not even sit properly, but could only put
abuses and treat the victims and the perpetrators. In 2007 journalist Tasneem Khalil, who wrote an article criticizing the government, was taken by Army members to the facilities of the Directorate General of Forces Despite experiencing torture himself, Jahangir Alam Akash continues to use journalism to Intelligence, speak out against torture and other human Bangladesh's rights violations. intelligence agency, and was persons should be tortured brutally beaten. Now he by law-enforcing agencies. has been exiled and lives in No rule or ordinance that is Sweden. Cartoonist Arifur contradictory to the main Rahman was arrested and theme of the constitution
I think that to establish freedom of the press and to protect human rights are the first and main steps to establish the rule of law and to develop a country. pressure on one side of my rear, when sitting. I broke into tears. Many cases were lodged against me. I felt I was being prepared to be killed in a “crossfire” or “encounter”. There is more shocking news I have learned about a key perpetrator, Major Rashidul Hassan Rashid, an RAB military officer who played the leading role in the extrajudicial killings of Ahsan Habib Babu, a student’s league leader; Kamrul Islam, alias Maznu Sheikh, a Workers Party leader; Ali Jafor Babu, a prominent businessman; and about twenty others. Major Rashid has been recruited to serve in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Ivory Coast; he joined the UN mission on July 10, 2008. This makes it clear how well the Bangladeshi authorities look into human rights
sent to the jail for making a cartoon, though he was freed from jail later. There are so many examples like those mentioned above. In the last 16 years 29 journalists/writers were murdered in Bangladesh. But yet real investigations and trials have no end. The journalists’ community and the relatives are waiting for justice. In the last 38 years since independence hundreds of journalists have been brutally tortured. Freedom of the press should be granted in Bangladesh's constitution; it is granted in Art. 39 (b), but it is not binding upon the government. Therefore, we should fight to establish the rule of the constitution. The judiciary should be independent in practice, and all kinds of killings by the government machinery should be stopped. No
should be formed or passed. No accused persons should have impunity. The United Nations charter should be followed strictly and, in this regard, the UN should act impartially and independently. I think that to establish freedom of the press and to protect human rights are the first and main steps to establish the rule of law and to develop a country; the culture of democracy should be practiced continuously and strictly in Bangladesh. In this regard, a forum for regional or global cooperation should be formed, should be active in creating a few rules, and should be strictly maintained. It is necessary to punish perpetrators and the Bangladesh government should stop impunity for the greater interest of democracy and peace.
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International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) Borgergade 13 · P.O. Box 9049
For more information...
1022 Copenhagen K DENMARK Phone: +45 33 76 06 00 Fax: +45 33 76 05 00 Email: irct@irct.org www.irct.org
FIDH 17, passage de la main d’or 75011 Paris FRANCE Phone: +33 1 43 55 25 18 Fax: +33 1 43 55 18 80
The “Preventing Torture within the Fight against Terrorism” newsletter is published bimonthly as part of a joint FIDH-IRCT project aimed at reinstating respect for the prohibition against torture in counterterrorism strategies both globally and in ten target countries: Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritania, Pakistan, the Philippines and Russia. The newsletter editors welcome submissions of content for future issues, including articles (send query first), comments, letters to the editor (up to 250 words) and suggestions for recommended reading. To submit content or make enquiries, email Brandy Bauer, IRCT Senior Communications Officer, at tortureandterrorNL@irct.org
www.fidh.org
For more information about the “Preventing Torture within the Fight against Terrorism” project, please visit the IRCT web site (www.irct.org) or contact: Sune Segal, Head of Communications, IRCT, +45 20 34 69 14, sse@irct.org or Isabelle Brachet, Director of Operations, FIDH, +33 1 43 55 25 18, ibrachet@fidh.org
This newsletter is being published with funding from the European Commission. The views contained herein are those of the authors’ and do not represent those of the EC.
Recommended resources
Readers of the “Preventing Torture within the Fight against Terrorism” newsletter may be interested in the following recent reports which discuss in more depth issues related to human rights violations and the ”war on terror”. These resources are not meant to be an exhaustive list.
Shadow report on Spain to the Committee against Torture from the International Commission of Jurists looks at how Spain’s anti-terrorism detention procedures fail to protect detainees from torture and ill-treatment. Available at: http://www.icj.org/IMG/ ICJ_Submission_SpainCAT. pdf
Stand Down, a webcast sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Rights, focuses on the impunity of private military contractors in the war on terror. Available at: http:// ccrjustice.org/node/1838
The torture report is a new interactive online report from the American Civil Liberties Union allowing users to search and read commentary on all U.S. government documents related to terrorist interrogation procedures. Available at: http:// www.thetorturereport.org/ “War on terror” cripples media in Pakistan from International Media Support looks at how current conflict threatens the occupation of
journalism in Pakistan. Available at: http://www.im-s.dk/files/ publications/1491% 20Pakistan.final.web.pdf
When healers harm, a website from the Center for Constitutional Rights, contains news and actions related to holding health professionals accountable for their role in torture interrogations. Available at: http:// whenhealersharm.org/
Who will tell me what happened to my son? from Human Rights Watch looks at how Russia fails in bringing perpetrators of human rights violations in Chechnya to justice. Available at: http:// www.hrw.org/en/ reports/2009/09/28/whowill-tell-me-whathappened-my-son-0