Tazreen Fire: A decade without justice

November 24, 2022 marks a decade since a blaze killed at least 117 workers and injured more than 150 workers at Tazreen Fashions, located in Nishchintipur of Ashulia. Later, four more workers died from physical illnesses and other ailments.

Various government organisations had formed investigation committees at the time to get to the bottom of this tragic fire incident. All inquiries pointed to gross negligence from the owners and management of Tazreen in ensuring the safety of workers. A report that requires special mention was the one by the investigative committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Among other things, it stated that the fire was "clearly a crime of causing death by negligence" and recommended "prosecution under section 304 (a) of the penal code".

This led to cases being filed against the owners of Tazreen Fashions and others involved. One of the cases was filed by the brother of a missing worker, and the other was filed by officers of Ashulia Police Station. On December 2, 2013, three investigating officers of Ashulia Police Station submitted the charge sheet to CMM court, in which 104 individuals were shown as witnesses.

Later, on September 3, 2015, complaints were made against owner Md Delwar Hossain and 13 others for causing death by negligence, and the process of hearing witnesses started from October 1, 2015.

In the seven years since October 2015, a total of 46 hearings were fixed for collecting testimonies. Out of these 46 days, the state was able to produce witnesses on only nine days.

Over the decade, a group of researchers, journalists, lawyers, photographers and filmmakers affiliated with the labour movement intensively observed the case proceedings. We have been present at every hearing to observe the judicial process, and based on frequenting the court for years and speaking to many people involved, we can say that it is the state's shortcoming that the case has been dragged out for so long.

This is characteristic of our judicial system. At various times, the state has spoken of witnesses' and victims' reluctance to testify. But having spoken to the victims, we believe that this reluctance is a marker of the class difference between the worker and this system, which essentially serves the interests of the business class. We have heard relatives of the dead workers say, "Will the rich's courthouse value the life of the poor? What hope is there of justice? There is no justice for owners." This same realisation led to the missing worker's brother giving up hope of any judgement from the case he filed.

For 10 long years, victims of Tazreen and their families have been without justice. We feel it is important to look back on just how long the case has been stuck in the legal system, and how the state has stood in the way of justice by failing to produce witnesses on time, and provide them with adequate protection and incentive to show up.

2015

October 1: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

November 1: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

2016

January 10: One witness was produced – the main plaintiff, police officer of Ashulia Police Station gave his testimony. 

February 7: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

April 10: Two workers who worked at the factory on the day of the incident provided testimony.

May 8: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

June 5: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

July 11: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

August 13: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

September 25: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

November 13: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

2017

January 29: An injured surviving worker provided testimony at the court, ignoring many undesirable comments from lawyers for both the state and the defendant. Repeated attempts were made to hinder his statement with illogical questions but he remained unmoved in his statement.

February 26: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

April 2: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

May 14: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

July 7: One witness was produced. Police collected some burnt clothing, coal, and papers from the scene of the incident as evidence. The witness signed on the list of seizures as a witness present on the scene.

August 13: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

October 8: Due to the death of the principal lawyer for the defendant, they asked for the date of the next hearing to be set three months later.

November 7: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

2018

January 11: The state was unable to produce witnesses. The judge asked the state's lawyers to submit an application stating that they are unable to produce witnesses.

February 26: The court was not in session because of the Dhaka Bar elections.

April 22: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

June 20: The state was unable to produce witnesses. Three of the accused who were out on bail were not present, so the court issued an arrest warrant against them.

July 30: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

September 11: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

October 16: The court was not in session as the judge was on Puja holiday.

November 27: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

2019

February 10: The court was not in session as the judge was on holiday.

March 7: A witness was produced after almost two years. SI Abid Hossain of Savar Police Station provided testimony. He prepared the local investigation report on the dead bodies found at the factory.

April 7: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

May 8: The state made an application asking for more time to produce witnesses, and their application was granted.

June 25: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

August 4: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

September 23: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

November 7: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

2020

January 30: The court was not in session as the judge was absent.

March 31: General holiday due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

October 15: The court was not in session as the judge was absent. Many of the injured victims who had been protesting in front of the press club for 34 days demanding compensation were present.

2021

January 13: The defendant's lawyer verbally asked the court to dismiss the case citing the state's inability to produce witnesses for more than a year and a half. Hearing this, one of the workers present at the courtroom said, "We do not know if we count as witnesses, but we are victims of the fire at Tazreen. We have come here because we heard there would be a hearing. We want to give testimony."

The judge acknowledged their presence and asked the counsel for the state to examine if any of the workers present at the courtroom were included in the list of witnesses. When one such worker was found, his testimony was taken.

February 27: General holiday due to Covid-19 pandemic.

February 28: The state was unable to produce witnesses. The owner could be heard addressing the injured survivors present in the courtroom, "I will pay journalists to come and prove to them that the workers present here never worked in my factory." The workers felt attacked by this provocation but did not respond.

October 27: Court activities were adjourned to mourn the death of a senior lawyer.

2022

May 18: Two survivors, Mirajul and Halima, were present to provide their testimonies. The hearing began in the presence of the nine accused, including owner Delwar Hossain and his wife Mahamuda Akhtar. There was confusion regarding the name of Mirajul as the judge had him down as Shirajul. To clear up the confusion, the judge instructed the courtroom clerk to fix the problem and called Halima into the courtroom.

More confusion ensued as the lawyer meant to cross-examine Halima for the defendant was busy with another case in a different court. So Halima was sent outside the courtroom to await the arrival of that lawyer.

Finally, Mirajul was sworn in. He recounted the story of how he had flung himself off a window to save his life and now lives with disability.

After Mirajul's testimony, the lawyer for the defendant finally arrived and Halima was called in to testify. She recounted the factory manager telling them that nothing was wrong and to keep working when the fire first broke out. When Halima and her co-workers eventually realised what was happening, they tried to move downstairs but found the gate locked. Eventually, they too broke open the windows and flung themselves out, which saved their lives but disabled them forever.

In his cross-examination, the lawyer for the factory manager accused her of giving false testimony. She was asked who she spoke to when she came into the courtroom, if she had ever been there before, and upon whose instruction she was providing false testimony.

June 21: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

August 28: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

October 4: The state was unable to produce witnesses.

Not producing witnesses and dragging out the case proceedings are only attempts at diminishing the victims' and their relatives' demand for justice. We will keep observing this case until those responsible for the brutal death of workers at the Tazreen fire incident are brought to justice.

Shahidul Islam Sabuj is the General Secretary of Workers Unity Forum.

Translated by Azmin Azran.