UK Government must protect Briton at High Risk of Torture in Bangladesh

<div class="field_article_img"><div><b>Image:</b></div><img src="https://cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/samiun-rahman-kamalapur_0.png"></div><div class="field_article_author"><div><b>Written By:</b></div>Editor </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="https://cage.ngo/wp-content/uploads/samiun-rahman-kamalapur.png" style="width: 400px; height: 234px;" /></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>(London, UK) CAGE [1] urges the UK government to adopt a policy of caution regarding claims by Bangladeshi police that 24-year-old Briton Samiun Rahman was recruiting for the Islamic State (IS). [2]</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Rahman, 24, was said by Dhaka police to have confessed to recruiting in Bangladesh on behalf of Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), which is based in Syria.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Bangladesh has an abysmal human rights record. Reports of extrajudicial killings, torture in prisons and police violence are common [3].&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>In fact, three Britons Gulam Mustafa, Jameel Rahman and Faisal Mostafa have alleged in the past that they were tortured while in Bangladesh with the complicity of British security agents, a claim corroborated by counter-terrorism officers in Bangladesh at the time. [4]</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The arrest of Rahman comes within the context of a number of highly politicised trials, including the hanging of Islamic political activists.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The independence of the judiciary in Bangladesh has been questioned, to such an extent that the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman recently expressed a fear that the judiciary itself was almost redundant. [5]</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;&ldquo;Inconsistencies in the narrative around Rahman&rsquo;s arrest, including that he was both a member of JN and IS simultaneously [6] demand that his statements and alleged confession be subject to more closer and independent scrutiny,&rdquo; says Asim Qureshi, CAGE&rsquo;s Research Director.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;&ldquo;It is highly unlikely that Rahman will face a fair trial by a judiciary that has been called &lsquo;almost redundant&rsquo; by leading human rights lawyers. One can hardly expect due process in this case.&rdquo;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&ldquo;There is a high likelihood that the alleged confession was elicited under torture, and that Rahman will be facing further torture in custody. This goes against the Geneva Convention which protects prisoners from such cruel and dehumanising treatment.&rdquo;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&ldquo;It is worth mentioning that the British government has in the past been complicit in facilitating torture in Bangladesh [7]. On this occasion instead of turning a blind eye given that the case is now public it must intervene to protect one of its citizens who is detained by a state internationally condemned for an appalling record on abuse as well as government and judicial corruption .The alleged confession and parading of suspects is obscene and a testament to an unjust legal system.&rdquo;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The wife of Samiun Rahman, spoke to CAGE and said:</div><div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a shocking time for us all. We are very stressed and worried. We don&rsquo;t know where he is or how he is being treated. Bangladesh is known for torture and as a British citizen, we expect the UK not to allow any mistreatment.&rdquo;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&ldquo;My husband is a good and kind person who wants to help others. But he is portrayed as some sort of felon or gang leader which is really not the case.&rdquo;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&ldquo;Now the media are harassing us and we don&rsquo;t even feel at peace in our own home.&rdquo;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>[ENDS]</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>NOTES:</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>CAGE (formerly known as CagePrisoners) is an independent advocacy organisation that works to empower communities affected by the War on Terror and to highlight abuses of due process. &nbsp;</div><div>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/29/briton-arrested-bangladesh-recruiting-islamic-state">http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/29/briton-arrested-bangladesh-recruiting-islamic-state</a></div><div>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Human Rights Bangladesh <a href="http://humanrightsbd.net/">http://humanrightsbd.net/</a></div><div>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Fresh torture allegations raised over third man held in Bangladesh <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/jun/14/british-man-torture-claims-bangladesh">http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/jun/14/british-man-torture-claims-bangladesh</a></div><div>5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>&lsquo;Judiciary could become redundant&rsquo;: Human Rights Bangladesh <a href="http://www.humanrightsbd.net/blog/details/136">http://www.humanrightsbd.net/blog/details/136</a></div><div>6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/28/isis-al-qaida-air-strikes-syria">http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/28/isis-al-qaida-air-strikes-syria</a></div><div>7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>CAGE was the first human rights group to unveil cases of British complicity in torture throughout the War on Terror. Read this report for more <a href="http://www.cageprisoners.com/our-work/reports/item/1063-fabricating-terrorism-iii-british-complicity-in-rendition-and-torture">http://www.cageprisoners.com/our-work/reports/item/1063-fabricating-terrorism-iii-british-complicity-in-rendition-and-torture</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>PRESS ENQUIRIES:</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Contact: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Mr Amandla Thomas-Johnson</div><div>Phone:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>+(44) 207 377 6700&nbsp;</div><div>Email: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>press@cageuk.org&nbsp;</div><div>Web: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>cage.ngo&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>CAGE&nbsp;</div><div>27 Old Gloucester Street</div><div>London</div><div>WC1N 3XX</div>