CCPR/C/115/D/2366/2014
Committee denied the State party’s request to lift interim measures. The author remains in
Canada.
Facts as presented by the author
2.1
The author began working as a journalist in Bangladesh in 1997. He authored
articles exposing extortion and corruption in Bangladesh, which caused him to be targeted
by the ruling political party, the Awami League, and associated groups. Following the
publication of an article he wrote in July 2011 focusing on the involvement of a local
Awami League leader in drug trafficking, the author began receiving threats from J, who is
the leader of a group of “thugs” in the Agargaon slum area. These threats were reported in
the news. The author filed a complaint with the police concerning the threats, but to no
avail.1
2.2
In his communication the author incorporates the facts presented in the Personal
Information Form that he submitted to the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board of the
Refugee Protection Division (RPD). According to the Form, the author began his career in
journalism by working as an assistant coordinator for the Bangladesh Human Rights
Journalist Forum until January 1999. He then worked as a staff reporter in the crime
department of The Daily Bhorer Kagoj newspaper until January 2004. In the same month,
he began working as a staff reporter for the crime department of The Daily Samakal. From
January 2008 to September 2011, he worked in the crime department of The Daily Kaler
Kantho as a senior reporter. Since January 2007, he has been a member of the Crime
Reporters Association of Bangladesh. The author also states in the Form that he is a
supporter of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party but never became a member due to
professional restrictions.
2.3
The Personal Information Form states that the author wrote investigative reports
concerning various crimes, including drug trafficking, and that some of the reports were
published in newspapers. Because of his investigative work, he sometimes received
“intimidating words” from various individuals and sometimes had to abandon his
assignments because of threats. The Form further states that since the Awami League’s rise
to power in January 2009, the security situation in Bangladesh has deteriorated due to
criminal activity by Awami League members, who collude with the police, and to an
increase in the number of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. On 27 June
2010, during a general strike called by the Bangladesh National Party to demand an
adequate supply of water, gas and power, members of the Awami League attacked
Bangladesh National Party activists in the streets, with support from the police. The Awami
League members beat a number of Bangladesh National Party leaders, including one who
was eventually detained by the police. The police also stormed into the residence of another
Bangladesh National Party leader, vandalized his house and beat women and children who
were present. The Form further states that the author and one of his colleagues were
assigned to investigate the event and report on it, focusing on whether a crime had been
committed by the police. Thus, on 29 June 2010, the author and his colleague went to the
scene of the events to interview the family members of the Bangladesh National Party
leader whose house had been vandalized. However, plainclothes officers on duty prevented
them from conducting their investigation and threatened them with detention for
obstructing the police from performing their duties if they did not leave immediately. They
eventually abandoned the investigation.
2.4
The Personal Information Form also states that in July 2011, the author was assigned
to write an investigative report on drug trafficking in the Agargaon slum. He visited the
1
No further details are provided.
3