Further acts of administrative and judicial harassment against Odhikar and its Secretary, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan

BGD 001 / 0813 / OBS 074.7

Administrative and judicial harassment /

Obstacles to freedom of association

Bangladesh

May 27, 2016

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)and FIDH, requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Bangladesh.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed with great concernabout further acts of administrative and judicial harassment against the humanrights non-governmental organisation Odhikar and its Secretary, Mr. AdilurRahman Khan, in afurther attempt to sanction and silence their human rights activities[1].

According to the information received, on May 25,2016, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan,also a member of OMCT General Assembly, was summoned to Bangladesh’sAnti-Corruption Commission (ACC), where he was interrogated by ACC Deputy Director Jalal Uddin Ahammad regardinga complaint initiated by the ACC against Odhikar for alleged “moneylaundering”.

On May 22,2016, Odhikar had received a notice from the ACC under sections 19 and 20 ofthe ACC Act 2004, requesting Mr. AdilurRahman Khan to appear before Mr. Jalal Uddin Ahammad over allegations of “moneylaundering”. The notice, dated May 18, 2016, referred to 97’000 EUR that weretransferred to Odhikar’s bank account by the European Union (EU) in July 2013,in the framework of a EU-sponsored project called “Education on theConvention against Torture and OPCAT Awareness Programme in Bangladesh”, run by Odhikar and approved by the NGOAffairs Bureau (NGOAB) of the Government of Bangladesh.

During the meeting with Mr. Jalal UddinAhammad, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan categorically denied theallegations of money laundering against Odhikar, and submitted documentsproving that the funds referred to by the ACC had been transferred and handledin accordance with the law[2].

In July2013, 97,501.07 EUR were credited to Odhikar’s bank account as the instalmentfor the second year of its EU-sponsored project, with the permission of NGOAB.However, after Odhikar made some initial withdrawals to implement the projectactivities, the NGOAB revoked its approval for the project, and the remainingamount in Odhikar’s account was frozen, preventing Odhikar from fullyimplementing the project activities.

Mr. Jalal Uddin Ahammad requested Mr. Khan toalso submit a bank statementof Odhikar’s account where the remainder of the EU money is frozen, as well asthe audit report of the EU funded project. The ACC Deputy Director stated that the submission of these documents wouldresult in a “quick resolution” of this matter, despite the fact that thesedocuments had already beensubmitted by Odhikar to the NGOAB.

The Observatory recalls that although the ACC has beeninvestigating this matter since 2013, neither Odhikar nor Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan have received any copy of the letter of allegationoutlining the grounds for the investigation.

The Observatory strongly condemns these new andbaseless acts of administrative and judicial harassment against Odhikar and Mr.Adilur Rahman Khan, which takeplace in an already repressive context for civil society in Bangladesh.

TheObservatory calls on the European Union, and the international community ingeneral, to intervene on Odhikar’s behalf in this matter. More generally, theinternational community must urge the authorities of Bangladesh to takeconcrete steps to end the harassment against human rights defenders in thecountry, including by repealing or amending repressive laws affecting theirwork such as the Foreign Donations(Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill 2015[3].

Background information:

Odhikar hasbeen under extreme pressure since August 2013, when the authorities arrestedMr. Adilur Rahman Khan ontrumped up charges in relationto a fact-finding report issued by Odhikar on the killing of civilians bysecurity forces in May 2013.

Since then,attacks and harassment against Odhikar have been ongoing, including judicialharassment against both Mr. Khan and Mr. Nasiruddin Elan, OdhikarDirector, as well as the surveillance and repression of Odhikar, its staff, andtheir relatives.

Odhikar isalso facing great difficulties to implement its activities, since all of itsbank accounts have been frozen and it has been forbidden from receiving foreignfunding.

In addition, on August 2, 2015, the Media and PublicRelations wing of the Police Headquarters in Dhaka issued a statementcondemning newspaper reports on extrajudicial killings, which cited Odhikar andBAMAK, another NGO. The Press Release, which was entitled "Police didnot commit extrajudicial killings. Statements of Odhikar and BAMAK areunlawful; only subversive campaigns", declared that the statementsmade by the two organisations “contravene the existing laws of Bangladesh,which is synonymous to challenging Rule of Law and the judicial system”. ThePolice Press Release further stated that questioning the activities of thepolice threatens the reputation of the police and amounts to defamation and acriminal act, and may be considered as a subversive activity[4].

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Bangladesh, urgingthem to:

i.Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity ofMr. Adilur Rahman Khan, all Odhikar members, their relatives as well as of allhuman rights defenders in Bangladesh;

ii. Put anend to any kind of harassment - including at the administrative and judiciallevel - against Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, all members of Odhikar, their relativesas well as all human rights defenders in Bangladesh;

iii. Ensurein all circumstances that Odhikar as well as all human rights defenders inBangladesh are able to carry out their legitimate activities without anyhindrance and fear of reprisals;

iv. Withdrawthe Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities)Regulation Bill 2015;

v. Conformwith the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted bythe General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Articles 1 and 12.2;

vi. Ensurein all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms inaccordance with international human rights standards and internationalinstruments ratified by Bangladesh.

Addresses:

· Ms.Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Fax: +880 28113243, Email: pm@pmo.gov.bd

· ProfessorDr. Gowher Rizvi, Adviser to the Prime Minister (International Affairs),Bangladesh. Fax: +880 2 9111312 Email: advinternational@pmo.gov.bd

· Mr.Asaduzzaman Khan, State Minister for Home Affairs of Bangladesh. Fax: +880 29515541. Email: stateminister@mha.gov.bd

· Mr.Anisul Huq, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs ofBangladesh. Fax: +880 2 7168557. Email: minoflaw@law.com

· Md.Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh. Fax: +8802 9562188. Email: fm@mofa.gov.bd

· Mr.Mahbubey Alam, Attorney General for Bangladesh, Email: adv_mahbubey@yahoo.com

· H.E.Mr. Abdul Hannan, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic ofBangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 738 46 16,E-mail: mission.bangladesh@ties.itu.int

· Embassyof the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 646 5998; Email: bdootbrussels@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic missions orembassies of Bangladesh in your respective country as well as to the EUdiplomatic missions or embassies in Bangladesh.

[1] Odhikaris a prominent human rights NGO that since its inception in 1994 has beenshowing its commitments towards the universality of human rights. Activities ofOdhikar include reporting, advocacy and fact-finding activities on violationsconsidered “sensitive” - such as disappearances, torture, political violence,etc.

[2] Suchdocuments included the grant contract signed between Odhikar andthe EU in December 2010 with respect to the above-mentioned two-year project,and the approval from the NGOAB allowing Odhikar to implement the project andto spend the money during the project period.

[3] For more details on the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities)Regulation Bill 2015, see Observatory Press Release, October 16, 2015.

[4] See Observatory Press Release, August 4, 2015.