Hizb ut-Tahrir draws the attention of all human rights organizations based in Bangladesh and internationally as well as the civil society in Bangladesh to the brutal torture of the party's members and activists by the government of Bangladesh (GOB); and calls upon the responsible executives and members of the human rights community and the civil society to take up the issue with the GOB, pressing upon them the urgency of refraining from all forms of torture.  

BACKGROUND AND FACTS:

1. On 22 October, 2009, the GOB made a sudden announcement that it had proscribed Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh citing as an excuse that the party was a ‘threat to public safety'. The decision was not made following any due process and the party's case had not been heard prior to it. In fact Hizb ut-Tahrir was not even officially notified of the decision by the GOB despite the fact the party had a public office from where it had been operating openly in the country since 2001, utilizing the recognized and widely accepted political means such as seminars, rallies and demonstrations. It is well known that Hizb ut-Tahrir has never resorted to nor ever condoned acts of violence.
2. Immediately after the ban, the official spokesman of the party in Bangladesh, Professor Mohiuddin Ahmed was put under house arrest on 23 October, 2009, for trying to hold a press conference to give the party's reactions to the GOB decision. He was later arrested with false cases, on 20 April, 2010 and is still in prison. Along with him dozens of party members and activists, including deputy spokesman Kazi Murshedul Hoque and senior member Professor Dr Syed Golam Mawla, have been imprisoned by the GOB for no reason other than their ideological-political views. Clearly, all of them are prisoners of conscience.  
3. In continuing with its repressive policies against Hizb ut-Tahrir, on 22 December, 2010 and on 19 January, 2011, the GOB again arrested more than a dozen members and activists of the party. They were subsequently remanded in custody for various durations. During their remand period, the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) ruthlessly tortured them in a manner which would disgust any human being, in order to force information out of them about the party's chain of command. The Bangladesh TFI is notorious for using torture; only recently the well known British newspaper, The Guardian, revealed the extent of the brutality which the TFI unleashes upon its victims. Being true to this reputation, the Bangladesh TFI subjected the members and activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir to inhumane torture using brutal means, some of which are:
   • They were blindfolded and severely beaten with batons;
   • They were subjected to electric shock, applied to their genitals, for up to the duration of 45 minutes;
   • They were stripped naked, tied and left hanging upside down; and
   • They were squashed between slabs of ice for lengthy periods.

NAMES OF THE TORTURE VICTIMS

• 1. Parvez Ahmed, age 28
• 2. Faisal Kabir, age 29
• 3. Masud Parvez, age 24
• 4. Mahfuzur Rahman, age 23
• 5. Maksudur Rahman, age 23
• 6. Erfan Ahmed, age 33
• 7. A.H.M Shamsuddoha Mahmudi, age 24
• 8. Nawajis Azam Fahim, age 22
• 9. Md. Ashikur Rahman, age 19
• 10. S.M Al-Amin, age 20
• 11. S.M Taufiqul Islam, age 18
• 12. Ferdous Wahid, age 23
• 13. Shahnewaz Sultan, age 23
• 14. Asif Rahman; age 17
• 15. Masud Alom; age 22; and
• 16. Firoz Alom; age 24

Hizb ut-Tahrir urges all human rights and civil society organizations, as well as the sincere individuals from the human rights community and civil society to fulfill their duty of defending all prisoners of conscience by insisting that the GOB immediately ceases the torture of the members and activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir.