France and Germany expressed regret on Saturday (September 16) over the imprisonment of Odhikar Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan and Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan, in a case filed under the Information and Communication Technology Act.

Jan Janowski, deputy head of mission of the German embassy in Bangladesh, posted the joint statement of the two countries on X. 

"France and Germany are deeply attached to respect for the rule of law as well as to the democratic acquis in Bangladesh. They will continue to support defenders of human rights in Bangladesh, like throughout the world," said the statement issued today.

"We regret the Bangladeshi court's decision regarding Adilur Rahman Khan and ASM Nasiruddin Elan. We have expressed our concern to the authorities on this situation and will maintain our dialogue with them on this case,” it added. 

"We recall that Adilur Rahman Khan, on behalf of the human rights organization Odhikar, was the 2017 recipient of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. A vibrant civil society is essential to the prosperity of every nation," added the statement.

"A vibrant civil society is essential to the prosperity of every nation," the statement concluded.

Earlier on September 12, a Dhaka tribunal sentenced the two Odhikar officials to two years' imprisonment each in an ICT Act case.

The case against Adilur and Elan was filed for running "a distorted report and doctored images" about the May 5-6, 2013 police action on a Hefajat-e-Islam rally in Motijheel at Dhaka. 

BDST: 1802 HRS, SEP 16, 2023
MN/SMS