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We appeal for your intervention to end the unjust imprisonment in Bangladesh of Dr. Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, an economist and former minister.  A summary tribunal set up by Bangladesh's military government has sentenced Dr. Alamgir to 13 years in prison for having a "discrepancy" in his wealth statement that he was forced to write in jail without access to any documents and with all fundamental rights in the country suspended. In addition, the government is seizing his house and assets, including assets of his family members, in order to deny him livelihood.
For his vocal role, Dr. Alamgir was detained and tortured before, in 2002, by the BNP (a center-right party) administration in Bangladesh. Pressure from many human rights organizations and conscientious people from around the world eventually helped secure his freedom.
In Janurary 2007, a military government took over power in Bangladesh. After putting in a civilian facade, the government suspended all fundamental rights and summarily detained more than 440,000 people. The government has imprisoned Dr. Alamgir, keeping him in solitary confinement and without bail since early February, 2007. The goal is to silence him and force him out of politics, for he has a history of playing a highly vocal pro-democracy role. In addition, some in the military bear a particular grudge against him because he led and drafted the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Treaty, which ended a decades long insurgency in tribal areas. Continuity of the insurgency was highly lucrative for the military. Our legal recourse is minimal, as the government has passed a series of laws to set up summary tribunals, severely restricting due process, the right to bail, and even the right to appeal. Dr. Alamgir is a political prisoner. We request you to ask the government of Bangladesh to release him on bail, withdraw its false charges, and restore full fundamental civil, legal and political rights. PLEASE ACT SOON. |
