Amnesty International has been concerned about the situation of
members of the Hindu community in Bangladesh over the past several
months. Following the general elections on 1 October which were won
by a coalition led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) with a large
majority, BNP supporters reportedly attacked Hindus because of their
perceived support for the rival Awami League party during elections.
Hundreds of Hindu families were reportedly driven off their land by
groups affiliated to the BNP-led coalition who, in some cases,
allegedly burnt their homes and raped Hindu women. Several Hindus
were reportedly killed. Amnesty International is calling on the
Government of Bangladesh to bring to justice perpetrators of these
attacks regardless of their position in society or in any political
party.

Amnesty International is also calling for the immediate and
unconditional release of prisoner of conscience Shahriar Kabir, a
journalist who has sought to publicise abuses against Hindus.

Discrimination against Hindus
---------------------------------

Hindus in Bangladesh have tended to vote for and support parties such
as the Awami League. They have therefore been the target of a
political backlash by supporters of parties opposing the Awami
League.

As a minority community in Bangladesh sharing a language and religion
with the Indian populations of West Bengal, Hindus have been
subjected to discriminatory practices or attacks by Muslim groups in
Bangladesh. None of the governments in Bangladesh since its
independence has taken any decisive steps to protect Hindus in the
face of potential threats, including the current attacks.

While both Hindu men and women have been subjected to attacks and
intimidation, Hindu women have been also subjected to sexual
violence. As a state party to the International Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, the
Bangladesh Government is required to take steps without delay to
eliminate discrimination against all women in Bangladesh. The
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has
identified gender-based violence which includes rape, as a form of
discrimination (General Recommendation 19 of 1992).


Attacks against Hindus
----------------------------

The current wave of attacks against the Hindu community in Bangladesh
began before the general elections of 1 October 2001 when Hindus were
reportedly threatened by members of the BNP-led alliance not to vote,
since it was perceived their vote would be cast for the Awami League.
The backlash after the elections was systematic and severe. Reports
indicate that the worst affected areas have been in Barisal, Bhola,
parts of Pirojpur, Khulna, Satkhira, Gopalganj, Bagerhat, Jessore,
Commilla and Norsingdi. Attackers have reportedly entered Hindu
homes, beaten members of the family, looted their property and in
some cases, raped Hindu women.

One of the affected villages was Ziodhara. Fear of backlash created a
severe atmosphere of tension in the village. Several hundred Hindu
villagers left for fear of being attacked and Hindu children would
not attend schools.

In another village, Deuatala Bazaar, gangs of young men wielding
sharp weapons reportedly went from door to door telling Hindus
to ''go away''. Hundreds of Hindu villagers reportedly left the
village.


Photo caption: Bangladeshi Hindu families who crossed into
neighbouring West Bengal as a result of attacks on Hindus in
Bangladesh gather to receive food from Indian villagers in the
borders village of Badalpur, 420 km north of Kolkata [Calcutta] on 8
November 2001 © Reuters.


In the village of Daspara in Mithanala union, Mirersarai Upazila, a
gang of about 25 youths reportedly attacked homes of Hindus around
midnight on 5 November. One person, Sunil Das Sandhu, 28, was
reportedly hacked to death and 16 others were injured, some
seriously. They ransacked houses, looted them, dragged family members
out of their homes and beat them. Police reportedly arrested 12
persons in connection with this attack, but it is not known if they
have been charged.

Hundreds of Hindu families have fled across the border into India
because they have been attacked or threatened. They have been
trickling into India reportedly either by paying bribes or crossing
along the remote unmanned border areas. According to Agence France-
Presse of 29 October 2001 they have either ended up in camps or gone
to their distant relatives. Hindus interviewed by journalists have
said they have been targeted because they were thought to have been
supporters of the defeated Awami League.

Some Hindu places of worship have also been attacked, including one
in Chandaikona Bazaar in Royganj area in Sirajganj on 22 October by a
group of youths who damaged Hindu statutes and looted the place.

Following a petition filed by a Bangladeshi legal aid organization,
Ain-o-Salish Kendra, the High Court ordered the government on 26
November to explain why it has not done more to protect the country's
Hindu religious minority. The court gave the government one month to
respond.


Allegations of rape
-----------------------

Human rights organizations in Bangladesh believe over 100 women may
have been subjected to rape. Reports persistently allege that the
perpetrators have been mainly members of the BNP or its coalition
partner Jamaat-e-Islami. Rape victims are frequently reluctant to
disclose their ordeal. What follows is a sample of the available
information.

A college student was reportedly raped in front of her mother at her
home in Azimnagar, Bhanga, Faridpur. The attackers reportedly entered
her home on 6 October at about 9pm, ransacked the house, looted
valuables and raped the student before leaving the house.
A school girl was reportedly gang-raped in Delua, Ullapara, Sirajganj
on 8 October. Attackers entered her home, ill-treated members of her
family, took her outside the house and raped her.


Two Hindu women were reportedly raped in front of their husbands on
11 October in Khanzapur Upazila in Gournadi, Barisal. The attackers
reportedly came at night, knocked at the door, and told the family
that they should leave the area because they had voted for the Awami
League. They then reportedly tied up the husbands and raped the
women.

Two Hindu women were reportedly raped in their home in Bashkandi,
Chorfashon, Bhola on 6 October. Male members of the family had
already gone into hiding for fear of being attacked. The attackers
entered their home and raped the girl and her mother.

A number of Hindu girls were reportedly abducted. It is not known
whether or not they have returned to their families. A gang of armed
men reportedly abducted three Hindu girls at the village of Nohata in
Shreepur in Magura district on 11 October 2001. The men reportedly
entered their home at midnight and took the girls away. Another girl
was reportedly abducted from her home at Razarchor, Sadar, Barisal
after the attackers were not paid a large sum of money which they had
demanded for leaving the family alone. They also molested the girl's
mother and her aunt. There are fears that all of these girls may have
been subjected to rape.

National and international reactions to the attacks
---------------------------------------------------------

Soon after the elections, the Bangladeshi press covered atrocities
against the Hindu communities widely, raising awareness in Bangladesh
about their situation and urging the authorities to take action. The
move was reinforced by Bangladeshi human rights organizations some of
whom sent investigative teams to the affected areas and held public
meetings in protest against the attacks.

On 15 October, Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action
expressing concern at reports that Hindus and other religious
minorities have been attacked since the general election, allegedly
by supporters of the BNP-led coalition. Members of Amnesty
International throughout the world wrote to the authorities in
Bangladesh urging them to take immediate action to stop any attacks
on religious minorities and to provide the victims of these attacks
with adequate and durable protection. They wrote to the Prime
Minister Begum Khaleda Zia asking her to set up an impartial and
independent commission of enquiry to investigate the alleged attacks,
identify the attackers and bring those responsible to justice.
Amnesty International members also wrote to the Inspector General of
Police urging him to ensure that his officers take appropriate action
on complaints against the alleged attackers.

Government reaction to concerns about the attacks was initially one
of denial. Amnesty International was particularly disturbed by
reports in the Bangladesh media in mid-October quoting Bangladesh
Home Minister, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, as saying the news of the
attacks on members of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh
were ''baseless, exaggerated and politically motivated''. He said
during a visit to Barisal that he had not found any evidence of such
reports. However, on 26 October, he reportedly admitted that
atrocities had taken place but provided no information about the
scale of the problem.

On 9 November, Agence France-Presse reported that the Bangladesh
Government had set up a committee headed by the principal secretary
to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to investigate alleged atrocities
committed against members of the Hindu community and their reported
exodus to India. The committee does not appear to be independent of
the government, as the Home Minister reportedly has a supervisory
role. The committee was to submit a report within a week but there
has been no further news about the progress of this committee.

To date, a number of BNP members have reportedly been arrested in
connection with the attacks on Hindus. For example, on 15 October,
the Daily Star reported the arrest of Abdur Rouf, President of the
BNP unit at Purba Delua village, Ullapara thana, Sirajganj. He had
reportedly led some 16 BNP activists who had attacked Anil Shill,
beating him as well as his wife Basanta Rani and their two daughters
Purnima and Gita Rani in an attempt to secure land belonging to the
family. Initially, the police had refused to register a case against
the attackers.

Reports in the Bangladeshi press continue to point to the problems
faced by members of the Hindu minority, particularly in rural areas.
One such report indicates that some 30 Hindu families in Reeshipara
village of Boraigram Upazila in Natore have allegedly been threatened
by armed men identifying themselves as members of the BNP to either
provide them with 300,000 Taka ($5,317) before the end of Ramadan or
leave the village and settle in another place.


Killing of Gopal Krishna Muhuri
---------------------------------------

The killing of a prominent member of the Hindu community appears to
be connected to the current wave of attacks on Hindus. On 16
November, Gopal Krishna Muhuri, Principal of Nazirhat College in
Chittagong was shot dead at his home. Four gunmen posing as members
of the police detective branch came to his house, called him to come
to the door and fired two shots at his head which killed him
instantly. The circumstances surrounding his killing point to the
strong possibility that he was targeted because of his identity as a
prominent Hindu with a successful career in the educational
establishment of Chittagong city. He had banned political activity in
the college, a move popular with ordinary students but opposed by
armed students' groups affiliated to the political parties who fight
for the control of halls of residence at educational institutions. At
the same time, a two-year extension of his tenure reportedly created
mounting disquiet among the majority Muslim staff of the college.
Police reportedly arrested at least two teachers and colleagues of
Gopal Krishna Muhuri on 17 November in connection with his murder.
They were allegedly linked to Jamaat-e-Islami, a party in the
coalition government.

Arrest of Shahriar Kabir
-----------------------------

The arrest of a prominent journalist and writer, Shahriar Kabir, who
was investigating the situation of Hindus after the attacks, has sent
a chilling message to human rights defenders in Bangladesh and
throughout the world. He was arrested and taken into custody of the
Special Branch of the police on 22 November at Dhaka Zia
International airport on his return from Kolkata. He had been to
India to cover the situation of Hindus who had fled persecution in
Bangladesh after the general elections. Police seized his passport,
five video cassettes, 13 audio cassettes, three CDs, several
unprocessed films and his camera. He was detained under Section 54 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows the police to detain
people without a warrant of arrest for 24 hours. The police asked for
his remand in police custody and a two-day remand order was issued by
the magistrate. However, the lawyer representing Shahriar Kabir
sought a stay of this remand order for two weeks, which was granted.
The court did not grant bail to the prisoner and he was sent to Dhaka
Central Jail where he was then served with a detention order under
the Special Powers Act (SPA).

The SPA provides for detention on the grounds of ''preventing [a
person] from doing any prejudicial act'' for example by
causing ''fear or alarm to the public or any section of the public''
or ''to prejudice'' matters relating to defence, foreign relations,
security, community relations, administration of law, essential
supplies and services, and economic or financial interests. Its
broadly formulated provisions allow for the detention of people in
contravention of their right to freedom of statement. It has been
frequently used by Bangladeshi governments to detain political
opponents. The extent of its abuse is such that the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party - now the largest component of the ruling
coalition - declared in its manifesto its intention to repeal the
law. The government has pledged to fulfil this promise.

The explanation the government has given for the detention of
Shahriar Kabir is that ''it was later found that the videos contain
objectionable and misleading statements that are detrimental to
communal harmony and subversive of the state'', and that Shahriar
Kabir ''in the interest of vested quarters was involved in tarnishing
the image of Bangladesh and of the government in the outside world''.

At the time of writing, the grounds given by the government for the
detention of Shahriar Kabir do not relate to any specific penal
charges. On 1 December, the Bangladesh High Court asked the
government to explain within one week why Shahriar Kabir's detention
was not illegal. The ruling followed a writ petition by defence
lawyers challenging his detention.

Shahriar Kabir's detention appears to be solely for writing articles,
giving interviews and taking video footage of Hindus who have been
the subject of attacks in recent months. In light of this, Amnesty
International believes that Shahriar Kabir's arrest is in
contravention of his rights to freedom of statement, which includes
freedom to express his views peacefully on the plight of the Hindu
minority in Bangladesh. There is no indication whatsoever that he has
used or advocated violence. Amnesty International therefore considers
Shahriar Kabir to be a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his
immediate and unconditional release.


Recommendations:
----------------------

Immediate and decisive action is needed by the government to address
the situation of Hindus in the country. Amnesty International is
urging the highest authorities in Bangladesh to:

1. Publicly condemn attacks against members of the Hindu community.

2. Take decisive action to protect members of the Hindu community
against attacks.

3. Initiate a full, impartial and independent investigation of the
attacks and make the result of this investigation public.

4. Bring to justice all perpetrators of the attacks regardless of
their position in society or in any political party.

5. Provide compensation to victims of the attacks.

6. Ensure that discriminatory laws against Hindus and other
minorities are repealed.

7. Take appropriate disciplinary or criminal action against any
police personnel who have failed to ensure the protection of members
of the Hindu community.

8. Amnesty International is also urging the Government of Bangladesh
to release Shahriar Kabir immediately and unconditionally since his
detention is in contravention of his right to freedom of statement.