To: The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

His Excellency Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed
Chief Advisor
The Caretaker Government of The People's Republic of Bangladesh
Dhaka

Subject: Death by torture of Mr. Choles Ritchil on March 18 while in custody of the joint forces of Bangladesh Army and Police.

Sir:

We are writing to seek your expeditious intervention and to protest the inhuman conditions in which Choles Ritchil, a leading Garo leader of Bangladesh, was held by the joint forces of Bangladesh Army and its police and which led to his death on the night of March 18, only a few hours after his arrest.

Mr. Ritchil's body was handed over to his family on March 19 with torture marks. Reports from eyewitnesses who prepared the body for funeral state the following signs of torture: “Choles's two eyes plucked, testicles removed, anus mutilated, two hand palms smashed, nails of three fingers of the right hand removed, left hand thumb finger nail removed, both palms had holes, upper right hand had severe wound, several blood stains on the back part of the body, in both thighs’ middle part there were two holes, the back part of the body had several black marks, several deep marks of wounds on both lower legs, there had been black marks on feet, no nail on thumb of right foot, all fingers of two hands were broken.”

Compounding the crime, no first information report (FIR) was filed in this case due to intimidation by the joint forces personnel.

It appears that Mr. Ritchil was vengefully targeted for opposing the construction of an Eco-Park over 3,000 acres of land at Modhupur forest, the age-long habitat of Garo tribals who are indigenous to this part of Bangladesh. Nearly 25,000 Garo people face eviction from their homes besides loss of livelihood.

The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees that "no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty save in accordance with law" [Article 32] and that the government and all state officials, including personnel of the Armed Forces, are sworn to uphold the Constitution, laws of the land, the penal code, military and police regulations.

Needless to say, this inhuman and outrageous barbarism has tarnished the reputation of the Armed Forces and the Government of Bangladesh.

Therefore, if the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh is serious about respect for human rights, it must take immediate action against such blatant violations of the right to life. We urgently request Your Excellency to intervene and order the following measures immediately:

1. Order immediate exhumation of the deadbody of Mr. Choles Ritchil for autopsy by an independent panel of doctors;
2. Order a neutral, impartial judicial inquiry into the killing of Mr. Choles Ritchil;
3. Order registration of the First Information Report by the Modhupur Police Station;
4. Order suspension of the Warrant Officer Jamal, 2nd Lt. Minhaj, Sergeant Shahadat, Major Toufiq Elahi and other personnel of Khakraid army camp to ensure a free and fair inquiry;
5. Trial and judicial punishment of joint forces personnel and their chain of command found responsible for the death of Mr. Choles Ritchil and of the torture of other detainees;
6. Investigate role of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer as well as Forestry Department officials in fomenting violence against Mr. Ritchil;
7. Provide safety and security for Mr. Pratap Jambil, who is the only eye-witness to the torturing of Mr. Ritchil and is currently in hiding in fear of his life;
8. Provide safety and security to Ms Sandha Rani Simsang and her family members and other witnesses against intimidation by the Joint (Armed) Forces;
9. Award compensation to the family of the victim(s);
and
10. Cancel the Eco-Park project in Modhupur forest.
Sincerely,

The Undersigned

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