Bangladesh : Garment workers leader arbitrarily arrested and detained
Event- Country
- Bangladesh
- Initial Date
- Dec 14, 2010
- Event Description
On 14 December 2010, in the early morning hours, individuals claiming to be part of the Detective Branch of the Bangladesh Police force came to the home of Ms. Moshrefa Mishu, president of Garment Workers Unity Forum. They were able to take Moshrefa without a warrant by threatening her with arrest. Moshrefa was unable to gather important medicines before being taken by the authorities to a detention centre. The rough conditions at Headquarters, constant interrogations, and inability to take asthma and spinal injury medications for 24-hours seriously contributed to the rapid deterioration of her health. This arrest is a continuation of the targeting of labour rights leaders in Bangladesh by the government and owners of garment factories in efforts to blame someone for the worker protests that have continued. You can read about the overall situation at http://www.sweatfree.org/bcws. The outcome of her court hearing was a 2-day remand, despite her obviously ailing health, and lack of evidence surrounding the allegations. After fainting on her way to the police van after the hearing, Moshrefa was finally admitted to the National Hospital. She was transferred several times as her condition worsened, and she is currently in the emergency ward at DMCH. Also of great concern were the restrictions being placed on the media's ability to cover this story, and accurately relay information regarding her recovery. The police force gave strict orders that nobody is to be allowed in to see her, nor are doctors allowed to comment on her physical state. Media coverage at this time is biased, as accounts of her arrest and detention have left out significant details that could potentially bring into question the government's course of action.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of movement
- Labour rights
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Event Location
Latitude: 23.7099
Longitude: 90.4071
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 14 December 2010, in the early morning hours, individuals claiming to be part of the Detective Branch of the Bangladesh Police force came to the home of Ms. Moshrefa Mishu, president of Garment Workers Unity Forum. They were able to take Moshrefa without a warrant by threatening her with arrest. Moshrefa was unable to gather important medicines before being taken by the authorities to a detention centre. The rough conditions at Headquarters, constant interrogations, and inability to take asthma and spinal injury medications for 24-hours seriously contributed to the rapid deterioration of her health. This arrest is a continuation of the targeting of labour rights leaders in Bangladesh by the government and owners of garment factories in efforts to blame someone for the worker protests that have continued. You can read about the overall situation at http://www.sweatfree.org/bcws. The outcome of her court hearing was a 2-day remand, despite her obviously ailing health, and lack of evidence surrounding the allegations. After fainting on her way to the police van after the hearing, Moshrefa was finally admitted to the National Hospital. She was transferred several times as her condition worsened, and she is currently in the emergency ward at DMCH. Also of great concern were the restrictions being placed on the media's ability to cover this story, and accurately relay information regarding her recovery. The police force gave strict orders that nobody is to be allowed in to see her, nor are doctors allowed to comment on her physical state. Media coverage at this time is biased, as accounts of her arrest and detention have left out significant details that could potentially bring into question the government's course of action.