.
It's a striking image: a young girl, dressed in stainless blue and red, hangs upside down from a black mass of barbed-wire and wood. It's an image that set Bangladesh aflame in 2011, and brought new attention to India's controversial shoot-to-kill policy on the Bangladesh border.
Felani Khatun was 15 years old when she was shot and killed by India's Border Security Force (BSF) on the morning of January 7, 2011. She, her father, and her uncle were attempting to cross the India-Bangladesh border and illegally return to their home country of Bangladesh.
Two years after her death her killer, BSF Constable Amiya Ghosh, was acquitted by a special military court. This month, Ghosh was acquitted once again in a retrial of the case in a special West Bengal Court of BSF. The last resort for Felani's family will be a writ petition filed in 2013 by pioneer Bangladeshi lawyer Salma Ali in the Indian Supreme Court, which is now pending approval in the upcoming weeks.
In 2011, Felani's poor Bangladeshi family were living in New Delhi illegally, with Felani working as a housemaid. Her father, Noor Islam, arranged a marriage for the girl in Bangladesh, and decided to move back to Banarvita village in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh. Like many poor Bangladeshi workers in India, Islam had no proper travel documents. The family had no other choice but to risk the illegal border crossing.
Felani's father and uncle planned to cross the barbed-wire fence with a ladder, and at the dawn of January 7, 2011 made their way to "International Border No. 947." While Felani's father and uncle both were able to climb over the boundary successfully, Felani's clothes became entangled in the barbed-wire. As she struggled to free herself, her cries to her father were noticed by BSF forces and she was shot immediately.
According to witnesses, she was alive for nearly an hour, but was left suspended on the fence by BSF forces, who removed Felani's body only after four hours had passed. Her body was handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel the next day.
A photo of Felani's life-less body on the border-fence was soon published in Bangladeshi media, and later in international news media. The shocking image created a universal outcry for justice, and much of the Bangladeshi public responded with ire at the sub-human status of Bangladeshi immigrants on the India-Bangladesh border.
With the world's eyes now fixated on this oft ignored hotspot of tension, India launched a probe in late 2013. The BSF investigation found 181 Battalion Constable Amiya Ghosh responsible for Felani’s death, and Ghosh was charged with "unintentional killing" under the Indian penal code.
However, in less than a month, Ghosh was cleared of all charges by a five-man BSF General Security Forces court, kindling renewed indignation within Bangladesh. After Bangladeshi officials explained their dissatisfaction with the nature of the trial, a retrial was set for this year. The verdict remained unchanged: the West Bengal Court of BSF upheld its previous verdict after hearing the revision trial.
Human rights experts have already condemned the verdict. The fear is that the verdict will allow the border guards to violate human rights without impunity in an already dangerous and tenuous zone. It's a deadly precedent being set by the BSF court that might ultimately undermine the legal foundation of the force itself. The BSF Act, the founding charter of the BSF, does not approve of indiscriminate killing during border-crossings.
The BSF are also instructed to warn before shooting, but witnesses claim that the BSF did not warn Felani or her family before opening fire. Ultimately, the killing is a violation of a number of international conventions to which India is a signatory to. The United Nations Basic Principle on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials calls upon officials to attempt to implement non-violent means before resorting to force. Officials are supposed to "act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence." Felani's death is also a clear and gross transgression of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
Recent legal history in India might be a source of hope for Felani's case. In 2000, a Bangladeshi woman was gang-raped by railway workers at an Indian railway station. The Indian Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement, determining that the rights of foreign nationals were established under the Indian constitution, and sentenced the accused for 12 years of imprisonment.
But the Indian Supreme Court may never judge Felani's case. Famed Bangladeshi women's rights lawyer, Salma Ali, helped Felani's father issue a writ petition to the Supreme Court of India. They challenge the legality of the BSF courts and their rulings, hoping to reverse the charges and find some form of justice for Felani. In the upcoming weeks, the Supreme Court will be deciding whether it wishes to hear the case or not.
Felani is a tragic symbol of ongoing violence on the India-Bangladesh border. It's been estimated that over 1,000 people have been killed along the 2,000 km fence in the last ten years. Each year, horror stories of cruel and arbitrary violence emerge from the border. The deaths of unarmed civilians have become commonplace, and there are hundreds of reported instances of torture and abduction.
After Felani's death, BGB chief Rafiqul Islam met with his BSF counterpart Raman Srivastava, and supposedly decided to both refrain from lethal force. However, the continual deaths are ample evidence that the policy is often breached. Ghosh is the first person to be prosecuted in the years of BSF violations of human rights.
In the writ petition to the Supreme Court of India, Salma Ali calls to the court,
"The gruesome act committed by the BSF constable not only violates the basic human rights of the victim, but it also shook the basic norms and principles of International Law portraying protection from torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment."
About the author: Akshan de Alwis is a student at Columbia University, and is a researcher for Salma Ali, the lead council for Felani's family and the head of the Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers' Association (BNWLA).
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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Seeking Justice for Felani
January 27, 2016
It's a striking image: a young girl, dressed in stainless blue and red, hangs upside down from a black mass of barbed-wire and wood. It's an image that set Bangladesh aflame in 2011, and brought new attention to India's controversial shoot-to-kill policy on the Bangladesh border.
Felani Khatun was 15 years old when she was shot and killed by India's Border Security Force (BSF) on the morning of January 7, 2011. She, her father, and her uncle were attempting to cross the India-Bangladesh border and illegally return to their home country of Bangladesh.
Two years after her death her killer, BSF Constable Amiya Ghosh, was acquitted by a special military court. This month, Ghosh was acquitted once again in a retrial of the case in a special West Bengal Court of BSF. The last resort for Felani's family will be a writ petition filed in 2013 by pioneer Bangladeshi lawyer Salma Ali in the Indian Supreme Court, which is now pending approval in the upcoming weeks.
In 2011, Felani's poor Bangladeshi family were living in New Delhi illegally, with Felani working as a housemaid. Her father, Noor Islam, arranged a marriage for the girl in Bangladesh, and decided to move back to Banarvita village in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh. Like many poor Bangladeshi workers in India, Islam had no proper travel documents. The family had no other choice but to risk the illegal border crossing.
Felani's father and uncle planned to cross the barbed-wire fence with a ladder, and at the dawn of January 7, 2011 made their way to "International Border No. 947." While Felani's father and uncle both were able to climb over the boundary successfully, Felani's clothes became entangled in the barbed-wire. As she struggled to free herself, her cries to her father were noticed by BSF forces and she was shot immediately.
According to witnesses, she was alive for nearly an hour, but was left suspended on the fence by BSF forces, who removed Felani's body only after four hours had passed. Her body was handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel the next day.
A photo of Felani's life-less body on the border-fence was soon published in Bangladeshi media, and later in international news media. The shocking image created a universal outcry for justice, and much of the Bangladeshi public responded with ire at the sub-human status of Bangladeshi immigrants on the India-Bangladesh border.
With the world's eyes now fixated on this oft ignored hotspot of tension, India launched a probe in late 2013. The BSF investigation found 181 Battalion Constable Amiya Ghosh responsible for Felani’s death, and Ghosh was charged with "unintentional killing" under the Indian penal code.
However, in less than a month, Ghosh was cleared of all charges by a five-man BSF General Security Forces court, kindling renewed indignation within Bangladesh. After Bangladeshi officials explained their dissatisfaction with the nature of the trial, a retrial was set for this year. The verdict remained unchanged: the West Bengal Court of BSF upheld its previous verdict after hearing the revision trial.
Human rights experts have already condemned the verdict. The fear is that the verdict will allow the border guards to violate human rights without impunity in an already dangerous and tenuous zone. It's a deadly precedent being set by the BSF court that might ultimately undermine the legal foundation of the force itself. The BSF Act, the founding charter of the BSF, does not approve of indiscriminate killing during border-crossings.
The BSF are also instructed to warn before shooting, but witnesses claim that the BSF did not warn Felani or her family before opening fire. Ultimately, the killing is a violation of a number of international conventions to which India is a signatory to. The United Nations Basic Principle on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials calls upon officials to attempt to implement non-violent means before resorting to force. Officials are supposed to "act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence." Felani's death is also a clear and gross transgression of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
Recent legal history in India might be a source of hope for Felani's case. In 2000, a Bangladeshi woman was gang-raped by railway workers at an Indian railway station. The Indian Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement, determining that the rights of foreign nationals were established under the Indian constitution, and sentenced the accused for 12 years of imprisonment.
But the Indian Supreme Court may never judge Felani's case. Famed Bangladeshi women's rights lawyer, Salma Ali, helped Felani's father issue a writ petition to the Supreme Court of India. They challenge the legality of the BSF courts and their rulings, hoping to reverse the charges and find some form of justice for Felani. In the upcoming weeks, the Supreme Court will be deciding whether it wishes to hear the case or not.
Felani is a tragic symbol of ongoing violence on the India-Bangladesh border. It's been estimated that over 1,000 people have been killed along the 2,000 km fence in the last ten years. Each year, horror stories of cruel and arbitrary violence emerge from the border. The deaths of unarmed civilians have become commonplace, and there are hundreds of reported instances of torture and abduction.
After Felani's death, BGB chief Rafiqul Islam met with his BSF counterpart Raman Srivastava, and supposedly decided to both refrain from lethal force. However, the continual deaths are ample evidence that the policy is often breached. Ghosh is the first person to be prosecuted in the years of BSF violations of human rights.
In the writ petition to the Supreme Court of India, Salma Ali calls to the court,
"The gruesome act committed by the BSF constable not only violates the basic human rights of the victim, but it also shook the basic norms and principles of International Law portraying protection from torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment."
About the author: Akshan de Alwis is a student at Columbia University, and is a researcher for Salma Ali, the lead council for Felani's family and the head of the Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers' Association (BNWLA).
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
