Odhikar’s Adilur Rahman Khan released on bail

11/10/2013
Press release
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Today, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary of FIDH member-organisation Odhikar, was finally released on bail from Kashimpur Jail 1. The release follows a decision of the High Court Division of the Supreme court issued three days earlier, which the government had attempted to appeal, to no avail.

"We welcome the decision of the High Court Division to release our friend Adil on bail, but obviously the fight continues. We now call for the end of any act of harassment against Adil and Odhikar. The extreme pressure they have all been suffering is not tolerable, and we all stand by their side. We will continue to use the best of our peaceful legal and advocacy means for Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations to prevail for the very sake of the country" FIDH President Karim Lahidji said today.

The release of Adil came a few days after a solidarity mission with Adil and Odhikar was carried out in Bangladesh in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH-OMCT joint programme. The mission delegates were able to meet with the Minister of Information, the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission and the Attorney General of Bangladesh, as well as a number of diplomats and civil society representatives. They also attended the hearing before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court on October 8, 2013, when the decision to release Adil on bail was issued.

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