Drik Gallery issues legal notice on govt

The government has been served with a legal notice asking it to immediately remove police from Drik Picture Library and allow its photography exhibition on "crossfire" to open.
The notice, issued by the lawyers on behalf of Drik, said if the government does not lift the ban within 24 hours, legal action would be taken to ensure freedom of expression, said a press release yesterday.
Police closed down Drik Picture Library on Monday shortly before the exhibition was to open.
The notice said police officers have been stationed at the gates every day since then to stop people from entering the exhibition. Home secretary, IGP, Rab director general and DMP commissioner have been made respondents.
Meanwhile, New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the government should allow the photo exhibition on "crossfire" in Dhaka to go ahead as planned.
Barring the exhibition from opening was a serious violation of freedom of expression, HRW in a statement issued in New York on Wednesday said adding that there have been hundreds of extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh.
The exhibition, "Crossfire," by Shahidul Alam, features photographs and installations relating to alleged extra-judicial killings by Rapid Action Battalion.
"Officers often contend that these are "crossfire" killings, in which they killed an alleged criminal in self-defence, often to prevent an escape," it mentioned.
"The government should address Rab's involvement in extra-judicial executions instead of trying to silence those who are promoting public debate about the problem," said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW. "These killings can't just be airbrushed from reality."
It was elected on promises of stopping such killings and of upholding free expression, Adams said adding, "Now that they are in power, they are singing a different tune. The prime minister should instruct officials not only to allow this exhibit to open, but to file criminal cases against Rab officers who act as judge, jury, and executioner."
Since the exhibition was closed, police officers have been stationed outside Drik, preventing public from visiting it. The reason given by Rab and police for the closure was that it "lacked official permission" and would "create anarchy."
According to the statement, Shahidul Alam, managing director of Drik, told the news media, however, that Drik had organised many such exhibitions in the past without any requirement from the authorities for explicit permission to hold it.
It quoted a HRW report of 2006, "Judge, Jury, and Executioner," which documented that many of the victims of "crossfire" killings in a large number of cases reviewed had instead either been tortured to death or summarily shot. The report recommended that the battalion be fundamentally reformed or abolished.
In recent months, the home minister has claimed that there have been no extra-judicial killings under this government and that law enforcement officials have only fired their guns when attacked by criminals.
However, investigations by human rights workers have found that the victims in many cases have been summarily shot and killed, the statement added.