At least 101 people were tortured to death by the law enforcement agencies in the country from January 2009 to May 2016, says local rights group Odhikar.
Odhikar secretary Adilur Rahman Khan disclosed the statistics in the keynote speech he presented at a discussion meeting at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital on Sunday, marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
“The law enforcers have grown a habit to torture people in custody. Tortures in custody are going on unabatedly due to the culture of impunity as well as to the government’s failure to enforce the Torture and Custodial Death Act-2013,” Adilur Rahman Khan told the discussion.
Political intervention and weaknesses in the country’s criminal justice system are making the crisis acute further, he noted.
The Odhikar secretary demanded formation of a separate and independent investigation agency to bring an end to the torture in custody as well as to improve human rights situation in the country.
The president of a faction of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), ASM Abdur Rab, said Bangladesh has turned a place where murder, abduction, and torture became a commonplace.
He also blamed the government for the recent spree of killings.
Dhaka University law professor observed that Bangladesh has now been a haven for torturing people. “People here are being tortured in many ways.”
He also urged the international community to raise their voice over the issue.
Source: Prothom-Alo
