Amnesty call to scrap SPA

The chief of London-based international human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) yesterday suggested to Law Minister Moudud Ahmed to scrap the Special Powers Act (SPA).

Dr Irene Khan, secretary general of the AI, made the suggestion during an hour-long meeting with Moudud at his office yesterday. She came to Dhaka on December 17 on a private trip.

Emerging from the meeting, Moudud told journalists that the government would decide on the SPA 'considering the overall situation of the country'. He however added that the government was considering repealing the abrasive law.

Irene told reporters that her focus was on three issues -- speedy trial, special tribunal and repeal of the SPA. She added that Amnesty had been opposing the SPA since its promulgation, because it was an anti-human rights law.

She noted that all governments had abused this law. But this government rode to office on the back of a landslide electoral victory and it had pledged in its election manifesto to scrap this law. So, the Amnesty expected it to repeal the law.

However, Irene added, so far during the tenure of the current regime a lot of political leaders, intellectuals and journalists were being arrested without any case. Many of them obtained High Court bail as per the law of land. But again, the government was detaining them under the SPA, violating human rights. Those whom the High Court sets free on bail should no more be detained.

The AI chief said there should be specific charges against all the arrestees, but they are not being charged. Yet, they are being remanded and tortured. "Such acts are surely unjust," she noted.

The law minister admitted that the SPA has scopes to be abused and is abused and that all the governments in the past misused it to various degrees. "But we should be careful about not using it at random. Our government is well aware of it," he said.

He informed the press that his ministry had gathered opinions of the Law Commission regarding the SPA and the government was looking into the recommendations.

The Law Commission on May 15 sent a set of recommendations on the SPA to the law ministry. Since then, the Law Minister has been saying that the government was considering the matter.

Later, Irene met Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar at the home ministry. They also discussed the human rights issues.