Killing of rickshaw van puller Omar Faruk is a ‘crime against humanity’: YASC

Youth Action for Social Change (YASC) has expressed strong condemnation and outrage over the brutal torture of rickshaw van puller Omar Faruk, 38, in public and subsequent death in prison custody on charges of theft in Bagmara of Rajshahi.

The organization has termed the incident as a ‘crime against humanity’ and a ‘stain on civilization’.

In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday evening, YASC founding president, writer and development rights activist Md. Shamiul Alim Shawon said that the barbarity of stripping Omar Faruk naked for almost two hours in front of hundreds of people, hammering multiple nails into his hands and feet and drowning him in dirty river water while he was thirsty, has surpassed even the darkness of the Middle Ages.

He said that sentencing a seriously injured and dying person through a mobile court without providing emergency medical treatment is a gross violation of human rights. This incident directly violated Article 35(5) of the Bangladesh Constitution, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention against Torture.

The statement questioned whether this process was followed to hide the real perpetrators? According to the ‘Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act’ of 2013, such neglect and torture are also mentioned as punishable crimes.

YASC has made five demands to the government to ensure a fair trial of the incident. The demands include - the prompt arrest of all the accused, including CNG Owners Association President Rezaul Karim and General Secretary Abdul Matin, involved in the incident, the formation of a judicial investigation committee, an investigation into the role of the executive magistrate concerned and the police, a speedy trial in a special tribunal and providing security and financial compensation to the family of the deceased.

The statement warned that if this murder is covered up with impunity, it will be considered a gross failure of the rule of law. If necessary, a strong movement will be waged, involving the the student and youth community of Rajshahi.