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”.
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.
Adilur Rahman Khan is the Secretary of Odhikar, a human rights organisation founded in 1994 with the aim of spreading awareness of human rights and conduct monitoring throughout Bangladesh. The organisation has trained over 500 human rights defenders to date. In 2014 Adilur Rahman Khan was nominated as a finalist for the 2014 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.
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- 14 September 2023 : Human rights defenders Adilur Rahman and A.S.M Nasiruddin Elan sentenced to jail for two years
- 11 January 2017 : Ongoing judicial harassment of human rights organisation Odhikar
- 30 May 2016 : Ongoing harassment of human rights organisation Odhikar
- 4 August 2015 : Harassment against human rights NGOs
- 5 February 2014 : Surveillance and intimidation of family of Mr Adilur Rahman Khan
- 23 January 2014 : Ongoing judicial harassment and fear of new charges against Messrs Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasirudden Elan
- 18 October 2013 : Human rights defender Adilur Rahman Khan, released on bail
- 6 September 2013 : Charge sheet submitted to the Magistrate Court against human rights defender Mr Adilur Rahman Khan
- 15 August 2013 : Arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights defender Mr Adilur Rahman Khan
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.
On 25 May 2016, the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh (ACC)'s Deputy Director Mr Jalal Uddin Ahmed questioned human rights defender Mr Adilur Rahman Khan, over an allegation of involvement of the human rights organisation Odhikar in money laundering, as a part of an investigation opened in 2013.
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The Deputy Director informed the human rights defender that the inquiry into the allegation related to the the sum of € 97,000 that the ACC supposed had been deposited to the Standard Chartered Bank account of Odhikar, as part of money laundering activities.
Adilur Rahman Khan denied all accusations made against Odhikar. He explained that the sum of €97501,07 available on the organisation's bank account was part of a contribution made by the European Union (EU) to help Odhikar implement a three-year project titled ‘Education on the Convention against Torture (CAT) and Official Protocol to the CAT Awareness Program in Bangladesh’, from 2012 to 2014. The grant contract was signed by the human rights organisation and the EU on 6 December 2010. The money was then transferred to the Odhikar’s Standard Chartered Bank account by permission of the Non-Governmental Organisations Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) of Bangladesh.
On 8 July 2013, the organisation received the second grant instalment, which was then partially used for the implementation of the above mentioned project following permission of the NGOAB. According to Adilur Rahman Khan, all of the reports relating to the project’s activities and their financial audits, required by the EU and the Government of Bangladesh, were submitted to the relevant authorities. The latter did not have any objections until 2013, after the organisation had begun to use the second grant instalment. At this time NGOAB revoked its permission to use the funds provided by the EU and since this time have remained dormant in Odhikar's account.
On 22 May 2016, Odhikar received an official notice from the ACC, issued four days earlier, under Sections 19 “Special powers of the ACC in respect of inquiry or investigation” and 20 “Power of Investigation” of the Anti Corruption Commission Act 2004, in which the human rights organisation was ordered to provide information to the ACC about the source and details of expenditure of the money available on the account of Odhikar. The notice emphasised that in case of failure to fulfil the order, legal proceedings would be initiated against the organisation.
There have been numerous reprisals against Odhikar by the ACC since 2013, after the organisation published a fact-finding report on extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh. Following this publication, Adilur Rahman Khan was arbitrarily detained for 62 days along with the Odhikar's Director Mr A.S.M. Nasiruddin Elan, who spent 25 days in detention. This was followed by a smear campaign against the organisation and human rights defenders in the media which was allegedly organised by the government. In August 2013, the Detective Branch of police confiscated Odhikar’s computers and important documents which contained confidential information about victims and their families, never returning them back.
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.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Bangladesh to:
1. Immediately cease the current unfounded investigation on money-laundering, and any further harassment of human rights organisation Odhikar and its staff, as Front Line Defenders believes that this is solely motivated by their legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;
2. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Bangladesh are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
On 2 August 2015, the Police Headquarters in Dhaka issued a press release accusing two human rights organisations, Odhikar and the Bangladesh Human Rights Commission (BHRC) of "subversive activities." The accusations are regarding statistics released by the human rights groups on extra-judicial killings that had been published in a newspaper. The newspaper report detailed the involvement of the Bangladeshi police into seven extra-judicial killings committed in July 2015.
The police statement called the research results unlawful, aiming to challenge the judicial system in Bangladesh and to ruin police's reputation. The police consider the research results to amount to defamation, which can be charged as a criminal act in Bangladesh.
Odhikar is a human rights organisation founded in 1994 with the aim of raising awareness on human rights and monitoring violations throughout Bangladesh. Odhikar regularly publishes reports on issues of extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and election irregularities. For several years the NGO and its members have been targeted by the authorities through surveillance and intimidation. The secretary of Odhikar, Mr Adilur Rahman Khan, was arrested in 2013 and charged with “publishing false images and information” and “disrupting the law and order situation”. Although he was released on bail later, the charges against him are still pending.
This act of harassment comes within the context of general crackdown on civil society, in particular through restrictions of freedom of expression. The proposed Cyber Security Act 2015, which is currently under consideration of the authorities, foresees further criminalisation of defamatory and “anti-State” publications, and might severely inhibit the ability of human rights defenders and civil society to to speak up about human rights violations.
On 5 February 2014, at approximately 4pm, a relative of human rights defenderMr Adilur Rahman Khan was followed by two men on a motorcyle. When the relative realised that the motorcyle had followed the car from their home to Gulshan, where Adilur Rahman Khan's home and office are located, they returned home, only to be followed home by the motorcycle.
This latest incident comes in the context of continuous surveillance and intimidation of Adilur Rahman Khan, his colleagues at Odhikar, and his family. It is alleged that the Detective Branch of Police have been monitoring the Odhikar office for some time. Members of this branch of police have repeatedly been seen stationed outside the office. They questioned the security guard and other staff regarding Adilur Rahman Khan, including with regard to his whereabouts and his routine movements.
It is alleged that one of the men who followed Adilur Rahman Khan's relative on 5 February 2014 was the same man who questioned the security guard earlier in January. When Odhikar staff asked the men who they were, they replied that they worked at the nearby “Spark Net” with a “Mr Mahmood” but refused to show their ID cards. When Odhikar contacted Spark Net, they were told that no such person worked there.
On 22 January 2014, human rights defenders Messrs Adilur Rahman Khanand Nasirudden Elan appeared before the Cyber Crimes Tribunal to submit an order for a stay in proceedings which had been granted the previous day by the Bangladeshi High Court. Later that day, at about 3pm, the human rights defenders had their statement taken by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in relation to a money laundering case. It is feared that this may lead to new false charges against them.
Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasirudden Elan are, respectively, the secretary and director of human rights organisation Odhikar. Adilur Rahman Khan was arbitrarily arrested on 10 August 2013 and detained until 11 October 2013. On 4 September 2013, both human rights defenders were charged with violating Section 57 of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Act of 2006. These charges relate to false allegations that Odhikar used manipulated photographs and fabricated a list of 61 people who were killed by police during the crackdown on the assembly of Hefazate Islam in May 2013. The case has since been transferred to the newly formed Cyber Crimes Tribunal.
On 8 January the Cyber Crimes Tribunal directed that witnesses be examined on 22 January, an order which was appealed on 15 January by the legal team acting on behalf of the human rights defenders. On 16 January a request was filed at the High Court for a stay in the proceedings of the Cyber Crimes Tribunal until the disposal of said appeal, as no evidence of criminal offence could be established based on the evidence submitted. On 21 January, the High Court granted a three-month stay.
After presenting the order for the stay in proceedings to the Cyber Crimes Tribunal on 22 January, Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasirudden Elan went to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) at the invitation of the deputy director, Mr Harunur Rashid. Mr Rashid had informed the human rights defenders that after going through Odhikar's documents and accounts he had not found any illegalities and wanted to formalise his findings. However, upon arrival, they realised that Mr Rashid was instead taking a statement from them under section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Examination of witnesses or accused persons) in relation to a money laundering case filed as Case no. 58/2013. Within minutes, sections of pro-government media arrived at the ACC with video cameras, and television footage was later released with the caption “Adilur Rahman Khan being investigated on money laundering charges”.
Odhikar is also currently under investigation from the NGO Affairs Bureau, and the stay granted on 21 January 2014 is due to be challenged on 23 January 2014.
On 11 October 2013, Adilur Rahman Khan was released after the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh granted him a six-months interim bail on 8 October 2013.
Adilur Rahman Khan had been held in detention since 10 August 2013 and was charged on 4 September 2013 under Section 57 of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Act 2006.
On 10 August 2013, at approximately 10:20 pm, Adilur Rahman Khan was arrested in front of his house at Gulshan – the same building which houses the Odhikar offices – by about 10 plainclothes Detective Branch (DB) police officers and taken to the DB custody facility on Mintoo Road in Dhaka. On 13 August 2013, he was transferred to Kashimpur-1 jail.
On 4 September 2013, the DB of the police submitted a charge sheet against Adilur Rahman Khan accusing him of violating Section 57 of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Act of 2006. These charges relate to allegations that Odhikar used manipulated photographs and fabricated a list of 61 people who were killed by police during the crackdown on the assembly of Hefazate Islam in May 2013. Adilur Rahman Khan's case has since been transferred to the newly formed Cyber Crimes Tribunal.
Since his detention on 10 August 2013, Adilur Rahman Khan has been denied bail three times: once by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 11 August 2013 and twice by the Cyber Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka on 9 and 25 September 2013. The human rights defender subsequently challenged the Cyber Crimes Tribunal’s order of 25 September and filed an appeal with the High Court requesting it to grant him bail. Subsequently, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court took the decision on 8 October 2013 to grant a six-months interim bail.
On 9 October 2013, the Office of the Attorney General appealed against the High Court Division's decision before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, but the decision was upheld. In accordance with the High Court order, the prison authorities were to release Adilur Rahman Khan on 10 October 2013; he was eventually released on 11 October.
On 4 September 2013, the Detective Branch (DB) of the police submitted a charge sheet against human rights defender and secretary of human rights organisation Odhikar, Mr Adilur Rahman Khan for violating Section 57 of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Act of 2006. The charge sheet also included the name of the director of Odhikar, Mr Nasiruddin Elan. It is therefore expected that the police may proceed to arrest him.
On 10 August 2013, Adilur Rahman Khan was arrested by about 10 plain clothes DB policemen. He was later transferred to Kashimpur-1 jail on 13 August 2013.
Adilur Rahman Khan arrived at the Magistrates Court at 9.30 am on 4 September, after a 3-hour drive from the Kashimpur-1 jail where he is detained. After waiting for two hours inside the courthouse, he was transferred to another holding cell where he had to wait, standing, for another 2.5 hours. He was not allowed to appear before the Court, despite the repeated requests of his lawyers. At 2 pm, police brought him back to the Kashimpur-1 jail.
At 4 pm, his family and Odhikar staff learnt from the media that the DB police had submitted a charge sheet against Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasiruddin Elan, for violation of Section 57 of the ICT Act, which punishes the “publishing of false images and information” and “disrupting the law and order situation of the country”. Adilur Rahman Khan's bail hearing is scheduled to take place on 9 September. He is to be formally charged in court on 12 September and the trial date will be set on the same day.
The charges against Adilur Rahman Khan relate to baseless allegations that Odhikar used manipulated photographs and fabricated a list of 61 people who were killed by police during the crackdown on the assembly of Hefazate Islam in May 2013. Odhikar recently published a fact-finding report on the incident supporting these conclusions. The DB police has reportedly held a press conference confirming the charges. The police have now reportedly requested an arrest warrant against Nasiruddin Elan.
On 13 August 2013, human rights defender Mr Adilur Rahman Khan was transferred to Kashimpur-1 jail where he remains in custody while the investigation against him continues. The human rights defender was arrested without a warrant on 10 August 2013 and later charged with'publishing false images and information'and 'disrupting the law and order situation.'
On 10 August 2013, at approximately 10:20 pm, Adilur Rahman Khan was arrested in front of his house at Gulshan – the same building which houses the Odhikar offices – by about 10 plainclothes men from the Detective Branch (DB) of the police force and taken to the DB custody facility on Mintoo Road in Dhaka. No arrest warrant was presented at that time.
At 2 am, various human rights defenders attached to Odhikar made their way to the police station in Gulshan where the police on duty explicitly denied having a case on file against Adilur Rahman Khan, or having any information about his arrest. At 3 am, the human rights defender's wife attempted to lodge a General Diary at the Gulshan police station. The duty officer refused to accept this, stating that the case was 'sensitive'; this was repeated by the Officer in Charge once he had been summoned on the insistence of Adilur Rahman Khan's wife.
On 11 August, at 1:20 pm, Adilur Rahman Khan was led before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court, where the charges against him were first read out. The human rights defender has been charged under clauses 1 and 2 of section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act (2006).
Two General Diaries had been lodged against him: number 268 dated 10 August 2013, filed by the Detective Branch of Police (North), according to which the human rights defender was arrested under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; and number 514 of the same date, filed by Gulshan Police Station, despite their denials to the wife of Adilur Rahman Khan and Odhikar staff about having any knowledge of his arrest. The human rights defender's petition for bail was rejected by the court.
During the evening of 11 August, between 8:20 pm and 9:00 pm, police searched the Odhikar offices and confiscated three laptops and two desktop hard drives.
Adilur Rahman Khan was finally transferred to Dhaka Central Jail at 3 pm on 13 August, and later, finally, to Kashimpur-1 Jail.
The charges against the human rights defender are reported to relate to a fact-finding report about human rights violations that occurred during the police crackdown against the Hefazate Islam rally at Motjiheel on 5-6 May 2013. Odhikar's fact-finding mission report concluded that 61 people had died at in the incident. In response to the report, the Government sent a letter on 10 July requesting that Odhikar hand over a list with the full names and addresses of the deceased, which Odhikar denied unless the list would be handled by an independent commission set up for the purpose. Furthermore, in recent years Odhikar has repeatedly seen its human rights projects been frustrated by the authorities who delayed approval. Front Line Defenders issued an urgent appeal on such an event on 29 July 2011.
