Human rights defenders Adilur Rahman and A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan sentenced to jail for two years
On 14 September 2023, human rights defenders Adilur Rahman and A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan were sentenced for two years of jail by the Cyber Tribunal of Dhaka. The human rights defenders are Secretary and Director of Odhikar, a renowned human rights organisation documenting human rights violations in Bangladesh. On 9 January 2017, the High Court of Bangladesh rejected a petition filed by human rights defenders Mr Adilur Rahman Khan and Mr A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan to quash a charge made against them in September 2013. They were charged with “publishing false images and information” and “disrupting the law and order situation of the country”.
ASM Nasiruddin Elan is the Director of Odhikar, a human rights organisation founded in 1994 with the aim of spreading awareness of human rights. In the wake of Odhikar’s 2013 publication of a fact-finding report that brought to light extrajudicial killings during a protest, ASM Nasiruddin Elan was held in arbitrary detention along with Adilur Rahman. In June 2022, the Government’s NGO Affairs Bureau denied Odhikar’s application for renewal, citing that the organization’s publications had “seriously tarnished the state’s image on the international stage.” On 14 September 2023, the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal sentenced A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan and Adilur Rahman to two years in prison with a fine of 10,000 Bangladeshi Taka.
On 14 September 2023, human rights defenders Adilur Rahman and A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan were sentenced for two years of jail by the Cyber Tribunal of Dhaka. The human rights defenders are Secretary and Director of Odhikar, a renowned human rights organisation documenting human rights violations in Bangladesh. The judgement stems from a case filed against the two human rights defenders for running "a distorted report and doctored images" about the police action on a Hefajat-e-Islam rally in the capital's Motijheel on 5 May 2013. Both human rights defenders and the organisation have faced reprisals due to their legitimate human rights work. Adilur Rahman and A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan have been victims of smear campaigns and judicial harassment in the past and now face risks to their physical and psychological wellbeing. Front Line Defenders condenms the targetting of Adilur Rahman and A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan and is concerned with its chilling effect on the human rights organisations and defenders in the country.
On 9 January 2017, the High Court of Bangladesh rejected a petition filed by human rights defenders Mr Adilur Rahman Khan and Mr A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan to quash a charge made against them in September 2013. They were charged with “publishing false images and information” and “disrupting the law and order situation of the country”.
Adilur Rahman Khan is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, a former Deputy Attorney General of the country and founder and Secretary of Odhikar. A.S.M. Nasiruddin Elan is the Director of the same organisation. The human rights organisation was established in 1994 with the aim of advancing the civil and political rights of the citizens of Bangladesh, and of creating a wider monitoring and awareness-raising system on the abuse of these rights. Odhikar carries out advocacy to address the human rights situation in the country, provides training for human rights defenders and conducts fact-finding missions in rural areas of Bangladesh.
On 9 January 2017, the Bangladeshi High Court cleared the way for the lower court to resume the trial proceedings of a case filed against Adilur Rahman Khan and A.S.M. Nasiruddin Elan under the Information and Communication Technology Act. The High Court rejected a petition filed by the two human rights defenders and cancelled a previous High Court order on 21 January 2014 for a stay in the proceedings of the case in the Cyber Crimes Tribunal and directed the Cyber Crime Tribunal in Dhaka to advance with it.
On 4 September 2013, both human rights defenders were charged with violating Section 57 of the Information and Communications Technology Act of 2006. These charges relate to false allegations that in a fact-finding report Odhikar used manipulated photographs and fabricated a list of 61 people killed by police during a crackdown on a Hefazate Islam rally in May 2013. The case has since been transferred to the Cyber Crimes Tribunal.
There have been numerous reprisals against Odhikar by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) since 2013. Following the publication of the fact-finding report, Adilur Rahman Khan was arbitrarily detained for 62 days. Odhikar's Director, Mr A.S.M. Nasiruddin Elan, spent 25 days in detention. The organisation was also subjected to a smear campaign in the media which was allegedly organised by the government.
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the continuous harassment of Odhikar and its staff, including Adilur Rahman Khan and A.S.M. Nasiruddin Elan, which it believes is solely motivated by their legitimate and peaceful work in the promotion and protection of human rights in Bangladesh.
