The petition
Workers rights activists detained.
With regards to an urgent situation involving the detention by the Bangladesh intelligence service of Mr Mehedi Hasan, a labour rights investigator for the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC). I am seeking to protect Mr. Hasan from potential mistreatment and to secure his immediate release.
Mehedi Hasan, a Bangladeshi national, was detained on January 24, in Dhaka, by the Bangladesh intelligence service and is currently being held for interrogation. It appears that the government plans to bring a number of bogus criminal charges against Mr. Hasan. It is clear that Mr. Hasan's arrest is related to the labour rights monitoring work he has performed on the WRC's behalf. Labour rights advocates in Bangladesh are very concerned that the security forces will physically mistreat Mr. Hasan.
Mr. Hasan was arrested between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., Bangladesh time, on January 24. He was initially held at the National Security Intelligence office in Gulshan. He was subsequently transferred to Pallabi police station. At roughly the same time as Mr. Hasan's arrest, the WRC's South East Asia Field Director, Bent Gehrt, a Danish national was also detained.. Mr. Gehrt was in Dhaka for a week, working with Mr. Hasan. Mr. Gehrt was detained at the Dhaka airport and interrogated about the WRC's work for roughly an hour. He was ultimately allowed to board a flight to Thailand. It was clear from Mr. Gehrt's interrogation that he and Mr. Hasan had been under surveillance by the intelligence service throughout Mr. Gehrt's time in Dhaka.
Mr. Hasan was held incommunicado until the morning of January 25, when a member of his family was allowed to speak with him briefly. He also spoke very briefly with a lawyer that the WRC has retained to represent him. Mr. Hasan was restrained with shackles at the time of these encounters. A hearing of some sort took place on January 25, at which Mr. Hasan was remanded to police custody for four additional days, for purposes of "further interrogation." Reports indicate that the government intends to charge Mr. Hasan with inciting riots and/or destruction of property (these allegations concern riots that took place some weeks ago in Mirpur) and with sedition (ostensibly for providing "sensitive" information to a "foreigner" - presumably Mr.Gehrt). It appears that they may also charge him with money laundering. All of these charges are false to the point of absurdity.
About Mr Hasan and the WRC
The WRC, based in Washington, D.C., monitors labour practices at apparel factories on behalf of universities and government entities in the United States. Mehedi Hasan is a contractor who has been working for the WRC since June of 2007. He is responsible for conducting labour rights investigations in the apparel sector, which entails conducting interviews with workers (these take place off-site, rather than at a factory), gathering documentary evidence, and meeting with factory managers. The focus of these investigations is factories manufacturing goods licensed by WRC affiliate universities or for other entities with whom the WRC has a relationship (such as the City of Los Angeles). The purpose of this process is to implement the labour rights codes of conduct enacted by these entities or by apparel brands sourcing from the facilities. Most investigations are triggered by complaints, typically filed on behalf of workers by labour rights NGOs or unions. As a result, investigators develop strong working relationships with local civil society organizations.
The detention of Mr. Hasan is part of a wave of state harassment of labour rights organizations in Bangladesh. A local staff person of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (an affiliate of the AFL-CIO) was recently arrested while participating in a worker rights clinic. Several reports imply that the government has issued criminal charges against leaders of one of the key unions in the country's apparel sector, the Bangladesh Independent Garment Union Federation, and threatened and harassed other prominent labour rights organizations.
Requested Action :
I respectfully request that the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, as a matter of urgency contacts the Bangladesh government to express urgent concern regarding Mr. Hasan's detention and ask that he be released immediately.
Also I respectfully call upon the Bangladesh government to bring about Mr. Hasan’s immediate and unconditional release from custody.
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