New Age | HC quashes jail sentence against ex-Odhikar secretary Adilur and director Elan

The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the verdict of a Dhaka-based cyber tribunal that had sentenced prominent human rights activist and former Odhikar secretary Adilur Rahman Khan and ASM Nasiruddin Elan to two years in prison for allegedly violating the now-defunct Information and Communication Technology Act 2006.

The single-judge bench of Justice Abdur Rob delivered the verdict after allowing appeals filed by Adilur, now an adviser to the Ministers of Industry and Housing in the interim government of Professor Muhammad Yunus, and Elan against the Cyber ​​Tribunal's September 14, 2023 verdict.

Adilur and Elan were sentenced to two years in prison for preparing an investigative report on the violence during the Hefazat-e-Islam demonstrations in Dhaka and the night operations against the protesters in May 2013.

The then Cyber ​​Tribunal Judge AM Julfikar Hayat also imposed a fine of Taka 10,000 each on Adil and Elan under Section 57(2) of the ICT in the case filed with the Gulshan police in 2013.

On October 15, 2023, the Single Bench of Justice Md Emdadul Haque Azad granted Adil and Elan one-year bail, allowed their appeal for hearing and released the two human rights defenders on bail after 30 days in prison.

The High Court suspended the fine pending the outcome of the appeal.

On August 10, 2013, the Criminal Investigation Department arrested Adilur and Elan under Section 54 of the Penal Code for their involvement in anti-state activities. Later, he was also implicated in the ICT case.

Adil and Elan were later released on bail by the Supreme Court in October 2013.

The United Nations human rights organizations, the European Union, civil rights groups and human rights activists at home and abroad condemned the prison sentence against the internationally known human rights defender Adilur and called for his immediate release.

Lawyer Mohammad Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan and his junior Mohammad Ahsanuzzaman appeared for the two human rights activists, while Deputy Attorney General Aneek R Haque represented the government.