Photo exhibition on ‘crossfire’ closed down

Lawyers condemn Drik closure unlawful
Police yesterday closed down a photo exhibition at the Drik Gallery in Dhaka just half an hour before the inauguration of the show, relating to deaths by RAB ‘crossfire’ or extra-judicial killings.
The exhibition was due to open at 4:00pm, but a contingent of police took up position in front of the Drik building preventing entry or exit from the gallery.
Pathshala and Drik took the initiative to organise the exhibition marking the launch of the South Asian Media Academy. Indian human rights activist Mohashweta Devi was scheduled to inaugurate the exhibition.
Drik officials said police had earlier asked the authorities of the capital’s one of the most prominent photo galleries not to open the show.
“A police officer came to our office and said that we must stop the exhibition to avoid ‘unrest in the country’ to be caused by the exhibition,” said Shahidul Alam, the photographer and Drik managing director.
He also termed the forced closure of the exhibition undemocratic, and said it would jeopardise the flourishing of democracy.
Shah Alam, officer-in-charge of Dhanmondi police station, said such exhibition would create unrest in the country and such exhibitions needed government permission.
The police ordered Drik to close down the exhibition as it had not obtained permission from the Special Branch before the exhibition, he said.
Bdnews24.com adds: Senior lawyers condemned the forced closure of Drik Gallery, for its ‘Crossfire’ photo exhibition, as ‘illegal and a violation of fundamental rights’.
Rokunuddin Mahmud, a senior lawyer, told the news agency that the police action was unlawful as Drik had permission to run a photo gallery. “It is not necessary for them [Drik] to get permission in relation to every fresh exhibition.”
“The government does not believe that there is any such thing as ‘crossfire’, so what is the problem? People have the right to know, they have a right to information. The police can’t simply remove that.”
Sara Hossain, another senior lawyer, said, “Under which law, under what order and under whose authority did the police close the gallery down? The constitution allows freedom of speech and assembly unless restricted by law. Which laws are the police talking about?”
Her sentiment was shared by a law professor. “Since it was without any prior legal notice, it will clearly be a violation of fundamental rights of the freedom of expression and of association to close down the exhibition,” Shadin Malik, director of law at Brac University, said.
The exhibition, called ‘Crossfire’, features symbolic representation of the deaths attributed to the ‘elite’ anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Local and international human rights organisations have for many years expressed concern about ‘crossfire’ deaths or extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh.
Quoting local media reports, local and international human rights groups, and the government,  a US State Department’s Human Rights Report on Bangladesh, released on Mar 12 — said law enforcement officials were responsible for 154 deaths, 129 of which were attributed to ‘crossfire’ in 2009, representing a 3 per cent increase from the previous year.
The government, however, has repeatedly claimed that no extra-judicial killings are being committed by law-enforcers. They say RAB and police only fire in self defence when they are under attack.
Last year, the High Court ordered the government to explain why killings without trial in so-called ‘crossfire’ or encounters should not be declared illegal.
It also asked why departmental and criminal actions should not be taken against those who perpetrate such killings in custody and outside.

Courtesy of The Independent