Bangladesh court jails top rights activists for two years

A Bangladesh court on Thursday (Sep 14) sentenced two leading human rights activists to two years each in jail, a trial that critics say is part of a government crackdown ahead of elections.

Adilur Rahman Khan (right) of the Odhikar organisation is seen outside a Bangladesh court on Sep 7, 2023

A Bangladesh court on Thursday (Sep 14) sentenced two leading human rights activists to two years each in jail, a trial that critics say is part of a government crackdown ahead of elections.

Leaders of the Odhikar organisation, Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasiruddin Elan, "were sentenced to two years in prison", Judge Zulfiker Hayat told the court.

Khan, 63, and Elan, 57, have led Odhikar for decades, working to document thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances of opposition activists, and police brutalities.

The criminal charges against Odhikar's leaders related to a fact-finding report they compiled 10 years ago on extrajudicial killings.

Several Western governments have expressed concern over the political climate in Bangladesh ahead of general elections due before the end of January, where the ruling party dominates the legislature and runs it virtually as a rubber stamp.