Adilur Rahman Khan

Adilur Rahman Khan (Bengali: আদিলুর রহমান খান; born 2 July 1961) is a human rights activist and the founder of Odhikar, a human rights organisation.[1] He is a lawyer and former Deputy Attorney General for Bangladesh.

Adilur Rahman Khan
আদিলুর রহমান খান
Born (1961-07-02) 2 July 1961
Dhaka, (Now Bangladesh)
NationalityBangladeshi
Alma materUniversity of Dhaka
Occupations
Awards

Gwangju Prize for Human Rights (2014)

WebsiteOfficial Website

Early life

Khan studied law at the University of Dhaka.[2] He was part of the democractic movement against Lieutenant General Hossain Mohammad Ershad.[2] He has Masters in Law degrees from the University of Dhaka and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.[2]

Career

Khan and several other members of civil society founded the human rights organisation Odhikar on October 10, 1994.[3][4]

Khan was appointed Deputy Attorney General by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami government.[5] In December 2005, he represented the government of Bangladesh in a ruling where the High Court asked the government to explain its failure to protect the judiciary bomb attacks by Islamist militants.[6] He resigned from the post on 14 May 2007.[5]

In 2013, a case was filed against Khan for 'spreading confusion' about the death toll in the operation to remove Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, an Islamist exremist organization,[7][8] leaders and activists during the 2013 Shapla Square protests in Dhaka.[9][10][11] On 10 August 2013, at 10:30 pm, Khan was detained by Detective Branch.[12] He was detained under Section 54 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006 and denied division in jail.[13] Canada called for his release through the High Commissioner in Dhaka Heather Cruden.[14] Numerous human rights activists in Bangladesh called for his release.[15] Dipu Moni, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided a briefing to diplomats in Bangladesh.[16] Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Zafar Ahmed of the High Court Division asked the government to provide division status in jail to Khan in September 2013.[17] In October 2013, He was released from jail after securing bail from Justice Borhanuddin and Justice KM Kamrul Kader of the High Court Division.[18][19] In January 2014, Khan and Odhikar's director ASM Nasiruddin Elan, were indicted in case filed over its report on the 2013 protests.[20]

Khan was detained in Kuala Lumpur International Airport by Malaysian Immigration in July 2017.[21] He was deported back to Bangladesh the next day.[22]

In September 2023, Khan and Nasiruddin Elan were sentenced to two years in prison and fined 10,000 taka by the Cyber Tribunal of Dhaka in a case filed over inflating the death toll from the 2013 Shapla Square protests and government action to remove the protestors.[23][24][25] France and Germany expressed regret over the verdict.[26] Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Ainjibi Forum, a lawyers body aligned with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, protested the verdict.[27]

Awards

References
  1. "Odhikar". Adilur Khan is a Secretary General of Odhikar - (Wikipedia).
  2. "Adilur Rahman Khan - Martin Ennals Award Adilur Rahman Khan". Martin Ennals Award. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  3. ANFREL (9 October 2019). "25 Years of Resilience: Statement from Odhikar on its 25th Anniversary". Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. "Human rights defenders in Bangladesh are at constant risk: An interview with Adilur Rahman Khan on Bangladeshi CSO Odhikar". www.civicus.org. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  5. "DAG Adil resigns". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  6. "HC Rule on Attacks on Courts, Judges". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  7. "Hefazat-e-Islam and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh". East Asia Forum. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  8. "Opportunism catching up with Bangladesh's Awami League". East Asia Forum. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  9. "Odhikar's Adilur Rahman gets two-year jail". Dhaka Tribune. 14 September 2023.
  10. "Odhikar's Adilur, Elan sentenced to 2 years in jail". The Business Standard. 14 September 2023.
  11. "List of '61 deceased' sent to int'l watchdogs". The Daily Star. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  12. "Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan still arbitrarily detained". OMCT. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  13. "Adilur Rahman still in prison!". The Daily Star. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  14. "Canada for immediate release of Adilur". The Daily Star. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  15. "Rights activists demand release of Adilur". The Daily Star. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  16. "Diplomats not convinced". The Daily Star. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  17. "Adilur to get division in jail". The Daily Star. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  18. "Adilur gets 6-month bail". The Daily Star. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  19. "Adilur freed on HC bail". The Daily Star. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  20. Correspondent, Court (9 January 2014). "Odhikar secretary, director indicted". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  21. "Odhikar secretary Adilur detained at Malaysian airport". The Daily Star. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  22. Report, Star Online (22 July 2017). "Reason behind detention still unknown: Adilur". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  23. "Bangladesh jails activists for 2013 report on security force killings". BBC News. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  24. "Imprisonment of Top Rights Activists in Bangladesh Triggers Global Outrage". VOA. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  25. "Odhikar secretary, director jailed for two years". The Daily Star. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  26. "France, Germany express regret over jailing of Adilur, Elan". The Daily Star. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  27. "Pro-BNP lawyers protest 'instructed' verdict against Odhikar officials". The Daily Star. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  28. "Adilur Rahman Khan receives RFK Human Rights Award". Franco-German Human Rights Prize-2017.
  29. Report, Star Online (25 October 2014). "Adilur gets IBA int'l human rights award". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  30. "Adilur gets Franco-German prize for human rights". New Age | The Most Popular Outspoken English Daily in Bangladesh. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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