"Do not cover your face, you will be beaten," police to crying woman during video

Detective Branch (DB) police are conducting a raid at a residential hotel in Dhaka. Several women have been detained during the operation.

The detained women are sitting in a room where they are being filmed. Those making the video repeatedly try to show the women’s faces. Yet, their faces could not be seen.

Some women try to cover their faces with the ends of their saris, while others use masks, scarves or their hands.

A video that has circulated online shows two female police officers holding the detained women and forcing them to show their faces. One woman can be seen crying. Nevertheless, they were told, "Remove everything, remove everything. Take off this mask. Do not cover up. If you cover up, you will be beaten."

The video was recorded on 12 August, when a DB team raided the New Rangdhanu Residential Hotel in the Abdullahpur bus stand area in Dhaka.

The video has been circulated by YouTubers as well as some news outlets.

The incident has raised questions over whether police can prevent a person from concealing their face if they do not want to be filmed. Human rights activists and lawyers say such conduct by police is unlawful and violates citizens’ rights.

Nur Khan, a former member of the National Human Rights Commission, told Prothom Alo that if a woman commits a crime, she should be tried and a court may punish her based on evidence. But the police are effectively arranging a form of punishment before trial. He termed this illegal.

Ilias Kabir, deputy commissioner (DC) of the DB’s Uttara division, was present during the raid at New Rangdhanu Residential Hotel.

Police sources said Ilias Kabir had ordered that the detained women not be allowed to cover their faces. In a video, he can be heard giving such an instruction while wearing a mask.

However, Ilias Kabir denied the allegation. On 2 September, he told Prothom Alo that detained people often wear masks to cover their faces and may be asked to remove them to confirm their identities.

“However, none of our members forced them to show their faces. The media people may have done that. They often do this for views and post the videos on Facebook,” he said.

When told that the video showed police officers forcing the women to remove the coverings from their faces, Ilias Kabir said, “Nothing was done intentionally. We try to do good work. There can be minor mistakes while doing so. We are human beings, not angels.”

After watching the video of the raid at New Rangdhanu Residential Hotel, a series of similar videos kept appearing on this reporter's Facebook. Some show raids at hotels, while others were filmed during raids at bars or flats. YouTubers and some news outlets have circulated these videos.

Videos of men and women are also being recorded and circulated during routine searches at police checkpoints.

According to police and YouTuber sources, some police officers invite YouTubers to join raids beforehand. YouTubers and some news outlets then publish the footage to attract views, generating revenue from the content.

Raids at residential hotels and bars are not new. Such operations take place every year, yet so-called “antisocial” activities continue. There are allegations that some police officers receive monthly payments from hotels.

Saiful Alam Chowdhury, an Associate Professor of the Journalism Department at Dhaka University who previously worked as a journalist, told Prothom Alo that raids on residential hotels, bars and similar establishments are generally conducted when disputes arise over arrangements or financial transactions.

He compared taking YouTubers and some media personnel along during these raids to catching thieves with fanfare.

In Saiful Alam Chowdhury's view, YouTubers or journalists should not be taken along on any police raid. The police can hold a press conference after the raid. It is not appropriate to invite "content creators" alongside journalists to those press conferences.

He said some journalists are participating in unethical or illegal work for "views." He noted that the responsibility to control this lies with the respective news media.

Article 35(5) of the Constitution of Bangladesh, under the protection in respect of trial and punishment, states that no person shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.

Articles 2(1) and 4 of the United Nations Convention against Torture require member states to treat torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as offences and enact laws accordingly.

On 11 December 2012, the High Court directed that people arrested or detained as suspects should not be presented before the media.

The court also issued a rule asking why law enforcement agencies should not be directed to remain within the limits of their duties. The respondents, including the home secretary, inspector general of police, director general of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, were asked to respond to the rule within two weeks.

Since the tenure of the previous interim government, the police, RAB, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and other forces have started blurring the faces of detained or arrested people in statements sent to the media.

The forces have adopted this practice, but the videos show that some officers are not following it. Instead, they are forcing detainees to show their faces.

Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court, Manzill Murshid, told Prothom Alo that the law does not permit this. Whatever the motive may be, illegal practices must be stopped.