Mohibullah
Mohibullah was a Rohingya refugee and human rights defender living in the Kutapalong camp in Bangladesh. He was also the chairperson of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace & Human Rights (ARSPH). He documented various atrocities committed against the Rohingyas by Myanmar’s military. The human rights defender also advocated for the rights and recognition of Rohingya refugees at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the White House and various other international platforms. In August 2019, he organized a massive rally to mark the second anniversary of the military crackdown on Rohingyas in Myanmar, in which Rohingya refugees participated in large number
Human rights defenders in Bangladesh face judicial harassment, arbitrary arrest, fabricated charges, abduction, physical attacks, torture and extrajudicial killings. Local extremist groups pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent often claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have targeted HRDs who write about women’s rights, indigenous peoples’ rights, freedom of religion, and other human rights issues. Despite these risks, there was no impetus on the part of the government to address the protection needs of HRDs. The authorities have so far failed to properly investigate a majority of the murders and impunity remains a serious concern.
