'Abducted witness needs protection: HRW
David Bergman
Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Indian government should take all necessary steps to protect Sukhranjan Bali, a long missing witness in Bangladeshs International Crimes Tribunal whom New Age revealed earlier was detained in a jail in Kolkata
.
India should not return Bali to Bangladesh until he is interviewed by the Indian office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which can determine if he wishes to claim asylum and whether he is a refugee, the press statement reads. If he does not wish to claim asylum, or his asylum claim is rejected, India should still not return him to Bangladesh when there is a real risk to his life or of his suffering ill-treatment if he returns there.
The rights organisation said that it had learned in March that Bali was in Dum Dum jail in Kolkata but had not made the information public as it first wanted to ensure that his safety would not be jeopardized.
In Thursdays report, New Age published extracts from a statement Bali had given whilst in jail in India in which he said that he was abducted by the Bangladeshi police from the entrance to the ICT and after six weeks in detention, forced across the border into India.
The apparent abduction of a witness in a trial at the ICT is a cause for serious concern about the conduct of the prosecution, judges and government, said Brad Adams, the HRWs Asia director. Among many questions is who ordered the abduction, and how senior the officials involved were.
The press release pointed to the failure of both the government and the tribunal to set up an independent investigation of the alleged abduction at the time it took place. Defence complaints to the ICT led to the judges asking for the prosecution, rather than an independent body, to investigate the allegations. The prosecution returned to the court and denied the defence allegations entirely, saying that there had been no abduction, despite eyewitnesses. The judges ordered no further investigation into Balis disappearance, the statement states.
No information about his whereabouts was made public and the government ignored calls to set up an investigation. The attorney general, testifying on a habeas corpus petition filed on Balis behalf, stated that the abduction claim had been made to bring the court into disrepute but offered no evidence for this assertion.
The rights organisation stressed that Bali could be in serious danger if he came back to Bangladesh.Those involved in his abduction may have assumed Bali would be killed by the Indian Border Security Force when he was pushed into India, or that he would permanently disappear, Adams said. There is a real risk to Bali if he is returned to Bangladesh, as he could expose those involved in his abduction. Bali needs access to an independent lawyer and UNHCR so that he can make an informed decision about whether it is safe to return to Bangladesh.
?Abducted? witness needs protection: HRW
David Bergman
Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Indian government should take all necessary steps to protect Sukhranjan Bali, a long missing witness in Bangladeshs International Crimes Tribunal whom New Age revealed earlier was detained in a jail in Kolkata
.
India should not return Bali to Bangladesh until he is interviewed by the Indian office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which can determine if he wishes to claim asylum and whether he is a refugee, the press statement reads. If he does not wish to claim asylum, or his asylum claim is rejected, India should still not return him to Bangladesh when there is a real risk to his life or of his suffering ill-treatment if he returns there.
The rights organisation said that it had learned in March that Bali was in Dum Dum jail in Kolkata but had not made the information public as it first wanted to ensure that his safety would not be jeopardized.
In Thursdays report, New Age published extracts from a statement Bali had given whilst in jail in India in which he said that he was abducted by the Bangladeshi police from the entrance to the ICT and after six weeks in detention, forced across the border into India.
The apparent abduction of a witness in a trial at the ICT is a cause for serious concern about the conduct of the prosecution, judges and government, said Brad Adams, the HRWs Asia director. Among many questions is who ordered the abduction, and how senior the officials involved were.
The press release pointed to the failure of both the government and the tribunal to set up an independent investigation of the alleged abduction at the time it took place. Defence complaints to the ICT led to the judges asking for the prosecution, rather than an independent body, to investigate the allegations. The prosecution returned to the court and denied the defence allegations entirely, saying that there had been no abduction, despite eyewitnesses. The judges ordered no further investigation into Balis disappearance, the statement states.
No information about his whereabouts was made public and the government ignored calls to set up an investigation. The attorney general, testifying on a habeas corpus petition filed on Balis behalf, stated that the abduction claim had been made to bring the court into disrepute but offered no evidence for this assertion.
The rights organisation stressed that Bali could be in serious danger if he came back to Bangladesh.Those involved in his abduction may have assumed Bali would be killed by the Indian Border Security Force when he was pushed into India, or that he would permanently disappear, Adams said. There is a real risk to Bali if he is returned to Bangladesh, as he could expose those involved in his abduction. Bali needs access to an independent lawyer and UNHCR so that he can make an informed decision about whether it is safe to return to Bangladesh.
?Abducted? witness needs protection: HRW
