- Update info:
- 12 Sep 2016 (Suspended)
- Latest info:
- 12 Sep 2016
- Country:
- PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH
- Subject:
- Shafik Rehman
- Period:
- 5 Oct 2016
- Distribution date:
- 12 Sep 2016
- UA No:
- 120/2016
Shafik Rehman, an 81-year-old Bangladeshi journalist arrested on 16 April, is still detained without charge in Dhaka Central Jail more than four months after his arrest. He now has access to his family and legal team but concerns remain that he is not being granted adequate medical care. His appeal hearing will take place on 30 August. Shafik Rehman is a well-respected journalist who is currently the editor of the monthly Mouchake Dhil magazine. He is a known supporter of the main opposition party, the Bangladesh National Party, and has been targeted by the authorities for his journalistic work several times in the past.
Shafik Rehman was arrested on 16 April, suspected of being involved in a plot to kidnap and assassinate Sajib Wazed Joy, the son of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After a period on remand, Shafik Rehman was sent to Kashimpur Central Jail on 27 April, where he was kept in solitary confinement and denied adequate medical care, despite suffering from diabetes and a heart condition. On 22 May Shafik Rehman was moved to Dhaka Central Jail and is no longer in solitary confinement.
Although it has been more than four months since his arrest, Shafik Rehman has not been charged with any crime. He has had his bail plea rejected three times. Shafik Rehman was granted permission by a four-member Appellate Division bench to appeal this decision before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court bail hearing will take place on 30 August.
Shafik Rehman is being granted some medical care in the jail hospital and on 17 July the Appellate Division bench instructed jail authorities to provide adequate medical care to him, and if need be, to have him admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. Shafik Rehman’s family, however, remain deeply concerned about his deteriorating health and say that the current level of medical care available to him is not adequate.
ADditional Information
Police said Shafik Rehman was arrested in relation to a pending criminal case registered in August 2015 for “conspiring to abduct and assassinate” Sajib Wazed Joy, the son of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister who is living in the United States and serves as Information and Technology Adviser. This plot was allegedly concocted in the USA and relates to a US court case in March 2015 when three men were convicted of bribery offenses. Credible media reports have since, however, raised serious questions about the Bangladeshi authorities’ claims that US court documents implicate Shafik Rehman in a plot to “kidnap and kill” Sajib Wazed, or that such a plot even existed.
- Update info:
- 12 Sep 2016 (Suspended)
- Latest info:
- 12 Sep 2016
- Country:
- PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH
- Subject:
- Shafik Rehman
- Period:
- 5 Oct 2016
- Distribution date:
- 12 Sep 2016
- UA No:
- 120/2016
Shafik Rehman, an 81-year-old Bangladeshi journalist who was arrested on 16 April, has been granted bail by the Supreme Court. He was released from prison on 6 September after spending more than four months detained without charge.
Shafik Rehman is a well-respected journalist who is currently the editor of the monthly Mouchake Dhil magazine. He is a known supporter of the main opposition party, the Bangladesh National Party, and has been targeted by the authorities for his journalistic work several times in the past.
Shafik Rehman was arrested on 16 April, suspected of being involved in a plot to kidnap and assassinate Sajib Wazed Joy, the son of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After a period on remand, Shafik Rehman was sent to Kashimpur Central Jail on 27 April, where he was kept in solitary confinement and denied adequate medical care, despite suffering from diabetes and a heart condition. Shafik Rehman was on 22 May moved to Dhaka Central Jail where he was no longer kept in solitary confinement. He was granted improved, but not adequate, medical care and regular access to his family and lawyers.
Although Shafik Rehman was held for more than four months since his arrest, he has not been charged with any crime. Under international law, authorities have a duty to inform him of the case against him, and either promptly charge or release him. His bail plea was rejected three times, until the Bangladesh Supreme Court granted him bail on 31 August. His bail will expire after three months and he is not allowed to leave the country during this period. He was released from prison on 6 September.
Amnesty International will continue to monitor the case and re-open the action if necessary.
No further action is requested from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.