A Dhaka court on Sunday placed Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of human rights organisation Odhikar on a five-day remand for interrogation in connection with publishing a "false report" on casualties during crackdown on a Hefazat-e Islam rally on May 5.
Magistrate Amit Kumar Dey of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka passed the order after DB police Inspector Ashraful Islam, and also the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case, produced Advocate Adilur Rahman, a rights watchdog organisation secretary before the CMM Court at about 1.45 pm with a 10-day remand prayer.
Plainclothes police detained Khan under the Information and Communication Technology Act shortly after filing a general diary (GD) with Gulshan Police Station, from in front of his Gulshan residence in the
city on Saturday at 10.30 pm. Soon after his detention, Khan was taken to the DB headquarters at Minto Road in the capital.
Police filed the GD for uploading a report on Odhikar website that claimed that 61 people were killed during the May 5 crackdown on Hefajat-e-Islam rally at Motijheel in the capital, according to a source of Detective Branch (DB) of police.
Odhikar also uploaded several "fake" photos of the drive on its webpage, the sources added.
On May 5, law enforcers allegedly flushed out several thousand Hefajat activists who took to the street and resorted to the alleged mayhem following the Dhaka seize programme of the religious group.
When contacted, Nasiruddin Elan, director of Odhikar told this correspondent that DB police have been following the activities of the organisation for several days and earlier the law enforcers had also called Khan at their office.
Khan's wife denied the allegations against her husband and said police arrested him without any arrest warrant.
Meanwhile, different human rights bodies including Human Rights Forum Banggladesh [HRFB], Asian Human Rights Commission [AHRC], the Transparency International Bangladesh [TIB] condemned the arrest of Adilur Rahman Khan.
A press release issued by HRFB yesterday said: "We condemn Adil's arrest and detention, and calls upon the Government to immediately release him from custody and in the meantime to ensure that he is not subjected to any kind of torture or ill-treatment."
Condemning the incident, the AHRC said: "Adilur's arrest and detention is a chilling proof of the witch-hunt the Government of Bangladesh is systematically carrying out in the country, silencing all forms of voices against the incumbent government's human rights abuses. Adilur's arrest, and the manner in which it has been carried out, is further proof to the fact that the space for human rights, free expression and opinion has drastically reduced in the country."
"The arrest is allegedly on the accusation, that Adilur has committed offences under the Information and Communications Technology Act, 2006, a legislation misused at will in Bangladesh, to silence freedom of opinion and expression, and often used by the government in violation of personal privacy and professional indemnity of the citizens. The AHRC urges all diplomatic missions in Dhaka to intervene in this case so that Adilur will not be ill treated by the police or tortured in custody," the AHRC said.
The transparency International Bangladesh [TIB] yesterday expressed concern over the arrest of Adilur Rahman Khan and demanded his immediate release following the legal process.
TIB executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, in a statement, said everyone has the right to make constructive criticisms over any issue. "The government shouldn't take such a decision that violates people's right to freedom of expression."
Meanwhile, the Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir on Sunday claimed that the human rights forum Odhikar secretary Adilur Rahman Khan Suvra was arrested on the basis of specific allegations.
"An investigation into the charges against Adilur Rahman was going on and action will follow it," the Home Minister said while talking to reporters at his office yesterday.