The human rights organization Odhikar has denounced the arrest, trial and jailing of its secretary, Adilur Rahman Khan, and director, ASM Nasiruddin Elan for breaching Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act.
The Dhaka Cyber Tribunal on Thursday sentenced Adilur and Nasiruddin to two years in prison, convicting them of disseminating false information on an operation against Hefazat-e-Islam members at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka a decade ago.
Odhikar in a statement issued after the announcement of the verdict said justice had not been served.
“As an organization, Odhikar has drawn the sustained wrath of the establishment for becoming the voice of victims of human rights violations, including those of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary detention, against the suppression of free expression and assembly and for its engagement with the United Nations human rights mechanisms.
“Earlier the government arbitrarily deregistered the organization. Today’s judgement is likely to have a chilling effect on human rights defenders and civil society organizations around the country.”
Odhikar said its secretary and director had been charged for releasing a report on extrajudicial killings committed on May 5 and 6 in 2013 centring on Hefazat-e-Islam’s protests.
“This is the first time in Bangladesh’s 52-year history that human rights defenders have been jailed for reporting human rights violations. On the night of August 10, 2013, Adilur Rahman Khan was picked up by members of the Detective Branch (DB) of police. He was kept disappeared overnight and was produced in court in the afternoon of the next day.
“Nasiruddin Elan subsequently surrendered in court. Later, Khan and Elan were charged under the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006 (Amended in 2009). Both were released on bail after spending 62 and 25 days in jail, respectively.
“After a 10-year-long court proceeding, Dhaka Cyber Tribunal judge AM Zulfikar Hayat pronounced the judgement and sentenced them today.”
