Please - Odhikar

Witness intimidation includes threats against the victims of crimes strikes at the root of the
criminal justice system by denying critical evidence to police investigators and prosecutors and
by undermining the confidence of whole communities in the government's ability to protect and
represent them.
Two forms of witness intimidation are hampering the investigation and prosecution of crime
throughout Bangladesh:
� overt intimidation, when someone does something explicitly to intimidate a witness; and
� implicit intimidation, when there is a real but unexpressed threat of harm, as when rampant
gang violence creates a community-wide atmosphere of fear. Most overt intimidation occurs
only when there is a previous connection between the defendant and the victim, and when they
live relatively close to each other.
It is very difficult to ascertain the precise extent of witness intimidation in Bangladesh, because
no scientific research has been conducted on the problem yet. But it is agreed that witness
intimidation is widespread, that it is increasing, and that it seriously affects the prosecution of
violent crimes.
Intimidation -- whether of an individual or a community -- may involve the following tactics:
� physical violence,
� explicit threats of physical violence,
� implicit threats,
� property damage, and
� courtroom intimidation.
Attempts by gangs or drug dealers to promote community-wide non-cooperation may include
the public humiliation or assault, or even execution of victims or witnesses (or members of their
families), as well as isolated public acts of extreme brutality that, intentionally or
unintentionally, terrify potential witnesses.
High incidence of threats of physical violence against victims, witnesses, and their families is
present in the society. Threats are much more common than actual violence but that threats were
often just as effective in deterring cooperation because in gang- and drug-dominated
communities these threats are credible. Threats against a victim's or witness's mother, children,
wife, or partner were cited as being particularly effective forms of intimidation.
A third common form of intimidation, reported in almost every jurisdiction, involves indirect
intimidation, such as gang members standing outside a victim's or witness's house, nuisance
phone calls, and vague verbal warnings by the defendant or his or her associates. Only slightly
less common than the three types of intimidation described above is intimidation involving the
destruction of property: drive-by shootings into a witness's house, fire-bombing, burning of
houses, hurling bricks through the window of home, and other types of violence.
Another common form of intimidation occurs when friends or relatives of the defendant direct
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Report 2005