A/HRC/25/60/Add.2 funding to the exclusion of secondary schools. Allegedly, the police forces used pepper spray, batons, and water cannons to disperse the protestors. It is reported that at least 20 teachers were injured, 10 were taken to the Dhaka Medical Hospital, and one died.. In its reply, the Government of Bangladesh simply acknowledged receipt of the joint allegation letter but did not address any of the concerns contained in the letter, nor did the Government confirm or deny the facts surrounding the excessive use of force against these peaceful demonstrators, or the fact that police repression resulted in serious injury to demonstrators. The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government of Bangladesh to address the concerns surrounding the January 2013 peaceful protests, and encourages the Government to continue its engagement with the mandate. (b) JUA 30/04/2013 Case No. BGD 6/2013 State Reply: 07/05/2013 Alleged torture of Mr. Mahmudur Rahman while in police custody under charges of sedition and destruction of property. 23. The Special Rapporteur thanks the government of Bangladesh for its reply, dated 7 May 2013, to this communication in reference to the alleged arrest of Mr. Mahmudur Rahman, the interim Editor of the Bangladeshi newspaper Amar Desh (Daily Amardesh), charged with sedition because of reportedly reproducing a Skype conversation between a and a person living abroad concerning an ongoing trial, charged with destruction of property, and facing charges relating to having published a letter along with a photograph. Mr. Rahman was held in police custody for six days, before the police handed him over to judicial remand. It is alleged that on the second day, Mr. Rahman was subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including severe beatings, the hammering of iron nails into his body, and electric shock. It is further reported that on 18 April 2013, at his court hearing, Mr. Rahman, who also suffers from a heart condition that requires ongoing medical attention, appeared to have fresh wounds on his legs and bloodstains and had difficulty sitting. It is further reported that Mr. Rahman went on a hunger strike to protest the alleged unlawful closure of the Daily Amar Desh and the detention of 19 persons who have allegedly been arrested for supporting the newspaper. Furthermore, Mr. Rahman's arrest appears to be the continuation of large-scale indiscriminate arrests and other forms of state-sponsored threats and intimidation against dissenting voices in Bangladesh. This pattern has allegedly increased in the past 70 days. The Special Rapporteur would like to remind the government of Bangladesh of paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23 which “Condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The Special Rapporteur would also like to remind the Government of article 12 of the CAT, that the government of Bangladesh acceded to on 5 October 1998, which requires the competent authorities to undertake a prompt and impartial investigation wherever there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has been committed, and article 7 of the CAT, which requires State parties to prosecute suspected perpetrators of torture. Also paragraph 6b of Human Rights Council Resolution 8/8 urges States “To take persistent, determined and effective measures to have all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment promptly and impartially examined by the competent national authority, to hold those who encourage, order, tolerate or perpetrate acts of torture responsible, to have them brought to justice and severely punished, including the officials in charge of the place of detention where the prohibited act is found to have been committed, and to take note in this respect of the Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Principles) as a useful tool in efforts to combat torture.” Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate article 14 of the CAT, which provides that victims of torture should have the right 17