Mamunur Rashid Nomani :

Today is December 10, International Human Rights Day. On this day in 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the United Nations declared this day as World Human Rights Day. Since then the day has been celebrated all over the world. The day will be celebrated in Bangladesh through various programs on government and non-government initiatives.

This time the theme

” EQUALITY – Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights ”

Proofs are arranged with very beautiful sentences while me and I are living in fear.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1947
Of its 30 sections,

Article 5 clearly states,
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

But I was tortured on the night of September 12, 2020. I was tortured and imprisoned. Su was deprived of medical treatment while in prison. I am currently dealing with a false and fabricated lawsuit filed under the controversial Digital Security Act.

Article 9 mentions,

“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.”

The lawsuit was filed under the controversial section of the controversial Digital Security Act of 2018. With the case, I was sent to jail without being taken to court.

According to a report by Deutsche Welle, more than 400 people, including 37 journalists and health professionals, have been detained under the Digital Security Act for criticizing the government over Covid-19.

The US State Department’s report on the human rights situation in Bangladesh in 2020 is mentioned.

It said many journalists, self-motivated for fear of government harassment and harassment, imposed censorship on themselves for criticizing the government.
During the Covid-19 epidemic, the government used the Digital Security Act, passed in 2018, extensively to punish critics of the government for dealing with the epidemic. Freedom of expression has also been curtailed in other ways.

The report alleges that under the pretext of the Digital Security Act, Bangladeshi authorities, particularly the intelligence service and members of the ruling party’s student body, have resorted to physical attacks, harassment, or intimidation of journalists. Human rights activists – the government and the ruling party – see the law as a tool to intimidate journalists.

A report on me by the Asian Human Rights Commission states that,

Tortured and Detained Journalist’s Case was Submitted to the UN SR on Torture and Freedom of Expression and Opinion:
The AHRC submitted the case of Mamunur Rashid Nomani, a journalist based in Barisal
Metropolitan City of Bangladesh, to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and to the Special Rapporteur on the Protection and
Promotion of Freedom of Expression and Opinion. Nomani was tortured in a public place by the local
city ​​mayor Sadiq Abdullah Serniabat. He was
detained arbitrarily for two weeks in a fabricated case filed under the Digital Security Act-2018. He
got his right hand’s plum fractured due to torture.

Today, my writing is getting stuck in the culture of fear. On this Human Rights Day, I am demanding the repeal of the controversial Digital Security Act ’18. The law is a black law for journalists. A law that restricts the expression of opinion.

As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Bangladesh has been expressing solidarity with the enshrined provisions of the Charter. Not only that, the Constitution of Bangladesh is committed to ensuring human rights and it is clearly stated in Chapter III (26-48a) of the Constitution.

How many rights can I actually guarantee? Are we just focusing on the celebration of Human Rights Day or the implementation of human rights?

Let’s find out, how much freedom of life, freedom of life, freedom of work, freedom of expression, right of equal opportunity, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, prevention of torture, disappearance, extrajudicial killings have been guaranteed? Are the rights to food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education fully guaranteed? The answer may be unknown to many.

Our demands may not be fulfilled yet, but we are hopeful that Bangladesh will ensure these things to the maximum.

Author: Editor, BarisalKhabar24.com,
Chief News Editor, The Daily Shahnama.

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