The flipside of the democracy carnival

During his recent visit to New Delhi, the Bangladesh foreign secretary urged the concurrently accredited ambassadors to Bangladesh to send observers to monitor the election process in the country. At a press briefing, he said Bangladeshis have been eagerly waiting to rejoice in electoral festivities and take part in the democratic process of voting and electing the representatives of their choice.

While one cannot be certain of the extent to which New Delhi-based diplomats were convinced by the secretary's assurance, any discerning observer of Bangladeshi affairs would find such claims to be grossly out of sync with the ground realities of today's Bangladesh.

The incumbent government—with its persistent rejection of people's desire for free, fair, transparent and inclusive polls, and its high-handedness in dealing with political opposition and dissenting groups—has created an environment of fear, anxiety, and extreme insecurity for citizens.

The disruption of BNP's October 28 rally in Dhaka and the subsequent outbreak of violence nationwide have resulted in a sweeping and violent crackdown, involving mass arrests and incarceration of the top as well as grassroots BNP leaders. In many instances, cases against opposition activists were purportedly lodged without proper investigation, as the accused were subsequently found to be either dead, or in custody, or abroad at the time of committing the alleged act. The media and rights organisations stated that, since violence erupted, the prison population has boomed, and at least 16 people were killed and 5,500 injured. The sharply deteriorating situation centring freedom of expression and the systematic incapacitating of the opposition have led some UN experts to conclude that the situation is not conducive to holding credible elections.

The incumbent government—with its persistent rejection of people's desire for free, fair, transparent and inclusive polls, and its high-handedness in dealing with political opposition and dissenting groups—has created an environment of fear, anxiety, and extreme insecurity for citizens.

To round up opposition leaders and activists, law enforcement agencies have launched combing operations in various parts of the country. This has led to immeasurable hardship befalling opposition supporters and their families. To avoid arrest, many activists were forced to flee homes. As securing shelter in relatives' houses may pose risk for the latter, some were forced to spend nights under the open sky. The image of an activist spending the night in a mosquito net hung in a paddy field aptly stresses on their plight.

The collusion of supporters of the ruling party and its front organisations with the law enforcement agencies has reached a new scale. News reports on ruling party activists, particularly from its student and youth wings, physically assaulting, detaining and handing over opposition activists to police have been rife. In one instance, they even handcuffed the victims before such a handover. Likewise, umpteen images and footage in print, electronic and social media have highlighted the disinterest and inaction of law enforcers in apprehending perpetrators of vandalism and arson. This has given rise to speculations about who really were behind these attacks and who got to benefit from their fallout. News reports and social media footage have further established this point, showing ruling party loyalists guiding law enforcers to the homes of opposition activists.

There's a widespread allegation that in their effort to nab opposition activists, police have failed to follow due procedure. In many instances, family members of those detained have claimed that police failed to produce warrants. Allegations of verbal abuse and physical mistreatment of the accused and family members were also made. Law enforcers' reported call to residents of various localities to report the arrival and movement of newcomers, and police's periodic search of vehicles, hotels and hostels for opposition activists, are in gross violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of movement.

A new low was reached when law enforcers began arresting relatives of those whom they failed to apprehend. A nephew and son of two BNP vice chairpersons were taken to custody when police failed to arrest the latter. The younger brother of a foreign affairs committee member of the party was placed under a five-day remand as the latter was absconding from his home when police arrived. In another case, the father-in-law of Narayanganj branch convener of one of BNP's front organisations was taken to custody. Days later, when two of the detainee's sons went to deliver medication to their father in prison, they were also arrested on charges of vandalising vehicles. The BNP has claimed that in at least 25 cases, relatives of party members were taken to custody when police failed to apprehend them.

The filing of cases against "unknown persons" following real or fabricated incidents has become another preferred method of harassing opposition activists. Thousands of them have to bear the burden of spending several days of the week to attend court dates. In addition to subjecting them to financial and emotional stresses, it also takes a toll on their livelihood.

The October-November period was also marked by rushed judicial proceedings against opposition members, which in many instances led to convictions and sentencing in absentia. Hundreds of BNP loyalists were convicted and sentenced in the final weeks of November in various courts of the country on charges of torching of vehicles, vandalism, attacking police and impeding police work. BNP has claimed that such hastily concluded trials are premeditated and yet another ploy to deny party leaders and activists the chance to take part in the national polls. As per the law, if anyone is sentenced to jail for two years or more, they stand barred from contesting polls for the duration as well as additional five years. As the national average rate of conviction is 20 percent for criminal cases, the inordinately high rate of conviction of BNP activists in the recent period has been viewed as "absolutely unnatural" by jurist Shahdeen Malik.

In several instances, courts have convicted and sentenced people who passed away or involuntarily disappeared years ago. Following an incident on July 18 this year in Dhaka's Mirpur area, a case was registered with Darus Salam police station. Along with 618 others, two persons were convicted, both of whom had died years ago. In another case, the convicted person had died four years ago, while two others remained involuntarily disappeared for eight to 10 years. Such erroneous prosecution, leading to wrongful conviction, speaks volumes about the state of law enforcement and criminal justice system of the country.

Allegations of mistreating injured opposition activists in healthcare facilities have also surfaced. According to hospital authorities, eight of 11 under-treatment patients of a private health clinic in Cumilla were evicted allegedly by plainclothes members of a law enforcement agency. In another instance, the photo of an opposition activist lying on the floor of Jashore hospital in bar fetters and handcuffs went viral on social media. When its attention was drawn, a High Court bench noted only heinous criminals including the militants are usually kept in bar fetters.

Bereft of the basic rights to assemble and express, let alone protest, the people of Bangladesh are currently bearing the brunt of the coercive apparatuses of the state. They are fearful of losing their most prized possession as citizens—the right to franchise. The festive mood that once accompanied national polls has been replaced by a feeling of alienation and cynicism. It is time the political leadership paid heed to people's demand for free, fair, participatory and inclusive elections, adhering to Article 7.1 of the constitution that says: "All powers in the Republic belong to the people…"

Dr CR Abrar is an academic with an interest in human rights issues.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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