Other members of Maayer Daak

Cases
Case status
Unknown
Location of case in SG report
2023-014-002
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2023
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 23.684994

Longitude: 90.356331

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Bangladesh
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
Dates of prior UN action
August 2022
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Gender
Gender unclear
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

works for a platform of families of disappeared persons

Type of rights defended
  • Civil/political rights
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

Meeting with the HCHR

Engagement with UN body
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
Dates of engagement
August 2022
Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
Dates of mentioned reprisals
August 2022
Location of mentioned reprisals
Bangladesh
Reprisal information
  1. According to information received by OHCHR, Ms. Sanjida Islam Tulee and other members of Maayer Daak, a platform of families of disappeared persons, received threatening calls after the visit of the High Commissioner, visits by police officers and were placed under increased surveillance. Reportedly, Ms. Islam faced a smear campaign after she met with the High Commissioner and, similar to many other members of Maayer Daak, received visits by security agencies and was asked to sign a statement, which said that there had been no disappearance in her family.12
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Other
  • Surveillance
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
Yes
Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
Yes
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
1
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2024
Follow up information provided in SG report 0
  1. Ms. Sanjida Islam Tulee and other members of Maayer Daak association, a platform of families of disappeared persons, were included in the 2023 report of the Secretary General22 on alleged threats, police visits, increased surveillance, and a smear campaign in relation to the visit to Bangladesh by the then United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to information received by OHCHR, during the reporting period Ms. Sanjida Islam and other members of Maayer Daak, continued to receive threatening calls, and visits by police officers, and remained under increased surveillance. During the reporting period they were reportedly visited several times by security agencies, who instructed them to stop speaking out, including with United Nations officials, while media and other organizations continued to undertake smear campaigns against them for their work on the human rights of the disappeared and their families, including with the United Nations.
  2. On 24 June 2023, in the context of an official visit to the country of the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations to attend an official meeting co-hosted by Bangladesh, Canada, and Uruguay, Ms. Sanjida Islam Tulee and a group of some 20 women waited outside of the meeting venue to hand him a document containing information about the alleged disappearance of their relatives. Police did not allow Ms. Islam Tulee and the group of women to deliver the document. The same day, Ms. Islam Tulee was reportedly visited by the police in her home and instructed not to approach the United Nations.
  3. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reiterated in its annual report its previous recommendation to the Government of Bangladesh that it must ensure that the relatives of disappeared persons, human rights defenders, and civil society organizations working on their behalf are protected from any threat, intimidation, or reprisals. (A/HRC/54/22 para. 62)
Followup Trends 0
Stayed same
Did the government respond? 0
No