HC withdraws prison sentence of Adilur, Elan; terms cancellation of Odhikar’s registration ‘Illegal’
The duo had been sent to prison for two years by Dhaka Cyber Tribunal for publishing a report accusing the law enforcement agencies of launching an attack on Hefazat activists and killing them.
The High Court has cancelled the prison sentence of human rights organisation Odhikar's Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan and Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan over the publication of death figures of Hefazat-e-Islam activists allegedly killed by law enforcers during the Shapla Chattar rally in 2013.
The duo had been sent to prison for two years by Dhaka Cyber Tribunal for publishing a report accusing the law enforcement agencies of launching an attack on Hefazat activists and killing them.
An HC bench of Justice Md Abdur Rob accepted the duo's appeal and pronounced the verdict today (22 August).
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During the hearing, Advocate Ruhul Amin Bhuiyan stood for Adilur and Elan in the court.
In another development, the HC has declared the NGO Affairs Bureau's 2022 decision to cancel Odhikar's registration as illegal.
A separate HC bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar pronounced the verdict after hearing a writ filed against the government's decision on Thursday.
The cyber tribunal sentenced Adilur and Elan to two years in prison in a case filed under Section 57 of Information and Communication Technology (TCT) Act on 14 September 2023.
Judge AM Julfiqar Hayat had announced the verdict, in which the two were also fined Tk10,000 each.
Earlier, Odhikar published a report online stating that at least 61 people were killed in a rally held by Hefazat-e-Islam at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on 5 May 2013.
