Odhikar, a human rights NGO in Bangladesh, has been experiencing high levels of harassment after the submission of its human rights report at the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in April 2013. It is time for all of us, human rights defedenrs from all over the world, to listen to their urgent voices and to step up for Odhikar.

Under the present regime in Bangladesh, human rights NGOs that predominantly work on civil and political rights issues, face constant obstacles in continuing their operations from the authorities, including bars to accessing funds. Odhikar has faced pressure from successive governments, for its vocal campaign against human rights violations, since its inception in 1994. However, the present government led by the Awami League, after assuming power in 2009, commenced targeted harassment on Odhikar for its campaigns and reports on the human rights situation in the country.

Since 2009, Odhikar has been suppressed and put under pressure by the present Awami League regime due to its ability to be vocal activists against violations of human rights. The Organization has gone through several bouts of crisis, hindrance, harassment and adversity brought about by the government and its agencies. The levels of surveillance and intimidation by the authorities have gone through different phases and affected family members too. Odhikar experienced high levels of harassment after the submission of its human rights report at the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, at the UN Human Rights Council in April 2013. The report highlighted violations of human rights, including torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killings and criticized state actors for perpetration and neglect. Odhikar now endures serious financial and operational crises due to impediments created by the government through the NGO Affairs Bureau. Due to its credible human rights reporting and its non-partisan, outspoken and vigilant stand, Odhikar has now become a constant target of state repression.

As part of the oppression, Odhikar and local human rights defenders, who are associated with Odhikar, are facing false charges, detention, intimidation and harassment. The Odhikar office has been raided and computers which contained sensitive and confidential information of victims and victim-families were confiscated. All funding has been stopped by the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) which is under the Prime Minister’s Office since 2014 and no approval of any new project has been given since 2013. The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has also joined the harassment and re-initiated an alleged ‘money laundering’ complaint against Odhikar, relating to a European Union (EU) funded program against torture. It is to be mentioned that, like other projects of Odhikar, this project was also audited by an EU and NGOAB approved auditing firm. The ACC was given all relevant project documents and vouchers in 2014. In May 2016, the ACC sent another letter regarding the same project and funds and summoning the Secretary of Odhikar to the Commission. Odhikar believes that this is a new phase of the attack on Odhikar by the government. Odhikar’s members and staff are constantly under surveillance by the intelligence agencies. Odhikar came under increased government fire when its Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan was picked up by men from the law enforcement agency on August 10, 2013, without warrant and under the controversial ‘section 54’ of the Code of Criminal Procedure; he was later shown arrested under the Information and Communication Technology Act 2006 (amended 2009) for publishing a fact-finding report on extrajudicial killing of 61 persons centering around a rally by the group Hefazate Islam on May 5-6, 2013. The Director of Odhikar was also implicated in this matter. The lower courts were controlled by ‘orders from higher up’ and all relief needed to be sought in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. The media owned by government party supporters were also involved in defaming Odhikar and Adilur. The harassment escalated in January 2014 after Adilur Rahman Khan was released on bail after 62 days in jail custody by the High Court Division. It was at that time when the Anti Corruption Commission initiated the investigation into the financial transactions of Odhikar and summoned both the Secretary and the Director for a meeting. After a lengthy investigation, finding no concrete evidence, the investigating officer and Deputy Director of the ACC, Harun-ar-Rashid recommended the Commission to settle the matter as ‘kept in record’ after investigating Odhikar for one and half years.

However, the Commission has decided to reinvestigate Odhikar as the report submitted by Harun-ar-Rashid was not deemed satisfactory. Deputy Director of the ACC, Jalal Uddin Ahammad has been given authority to re-investigate the matter. On May 22, 2016 at around 5:30 pm, a letter signed by Jalal Uddin Ahammad, the Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, came to Odhikar’s Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan. It was an allegation of money laundering against Odhikar by the ACC and about hearing and recording the statement of a relevant person of the Organization. The ACC mentioned that 97,000 Euro came as remittance to Standard Chartered Bank for Odhikar, but it did not mention any date of such transaction.

The amount of Euro, which was mentioned by ACC, was not correct. Rather, 97,501.07 Euro, as the project money for the second year of the European Union-funded project, was credited to Odhikar’s mother-account at Standard Chartered Bank on July 8, 2013, with the permission of the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB). With the permission of the NGOAB, Odhikar withdrew funds from the total amount and spent it for the implementation of project activities. The remaining fund is still in the said bank account because the NGOAB did not approve of the remaining fund to be withdrawn from the bank. It is to be noted that an agreement was signed between the European Union and Odhikar for a two-year project, titled ‘Education on the Convention against Torture and OPCAT Awareness Programme in Bangladesh’. The NGOAB gave permission to deposit the money in the mother-account of the Organization, and to spend the money during the project period in 24 months. The duration of the project was amended thrice and also the budget needed to be amended because of the delay of approval from NGOAB. All the expenditures of the project were audited by the Audit Company which was approved by NGOAB and European Union, and the audit report was submitted to both institutes.

It must be noted here that the Anti Corruption Commission has kept the information of the complainant and the description of the allegations from Odhikar and refuses to disclose them. This only confirms that the ACC is working as a subservient institution to the government and is not ‘independent’.

The Anti Corruption Commission continues harassing Odhikar as part of the repressive acts of the present government as the Organization has also been publishing the discriminatory actions of the ACC and its non-transparent activities as part of Odhikar’s human rights work. Odhikar has also been asking for the annual income and expenditure of ACC officials to be published on the ACC website. The ACC can investigate Odhikar’s financial transaction at any time with the due process of law. ‘Summoning’ and making threats to ‘take measures’ despite submitting all relevant documents related to projects to the NGO Affairs Bureau are tantamount to repression.

The crackdown and intimidation on Odhikar have had a chilling effect on civil society organizations and human rights defenders active in Bangladesh. It has created a sense of insecurity among the human rights community in Bangladesh, especially those working in the field of civil and political rights.

As a background to this persecution, a brief description of the current state of the country is necessary. The political situation in the country has become catastrophic as a result of the government’s becoming extremely repressive against the opposition parties and dissenting and alternative voices. Furthermore, the political and human rights situation has deteriorated in the absence of a popularly elected government. The present Awami League-led government has pushed the country towards this situation by repealing the Constitutional provision of conducting Parliamentary elections under non-partisan ‘caretaker’ governments through the Fifteenth Amendment. This has allowed the escalation of human rights violations, criminalization of politics, violence and erosion of the rule of law in the country. The Awami League government came to power again through controversial and farcical Parliamentary elections held on January 5, 2014, which was boycotted by most of the political parties. Since then the authoritarian regime has embarked in silencing the dissenting voices through persecution and arrests.

In Bangladesh, incidents of enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killings, torture and shooting in the limbs of the opposition and civil society activists; and the imposition of draconian laws have become regular. Through the 15th and 16th amendments to the Constitution, the government has taken away the rights of voting power of the people under a ‘Neutral Caretaker Government’ and made all institutions, including the Judiciary dysfunctional. The criminal justice delivery systems in the country constantly avoid holding members of law-enforcement agencies responsible for their actions in a way that would uphold equality before the law. The 16th Amendment takes away the right to impeach judges, from the hands of a Supreme judicial Council and gives it to the Members of Parliament. The liberal space for freedom of opinion, expression and thought in line with freedom of assembly and of association has experienced an abrupt decline due to this violence, harassment, and repressive laws. Other repressive laws have been enacted and continue to remain in force and are abused on grounds of national security and combating terrorism.

Under such circumstances, human rights defenders are being constantly threatened, intimidated and even tortured. Acts of enforced disappearance have become an institutionalized practice of repression resorted by the State. Freedom of speech and expression is systematically denied with editors being jailed and prosecuted and bloggers and online activists killed. All complaint mechanisms are controlled by the police and the National Human Rights Commission is paralyzed and subservient to the government.

As a human rights organization, it is Odhikar’s duty to highlight human rights violations, with no discrimination whatsoever; and take appropriate measures to prevent future violations. The country, in particular, needs more attention and support and given the situation the people are facing, further collective actions should be taken. Odhikar urges the international community to intervene in the matter to support the peoples’ ongoing struggle to restore democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Bangladesh and make the government accountable under the UN Declaration of Human Rights and international treaties of which Bangladesh is a party. It urges the international community to make the government of Bangladesh recall its commitments given at various international forums, including the UN Human Rights Council. It also demands that the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council should repeatedly send reminders for an invitation to visit Bangladesh for the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression; Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and other important mandate holders. Odhikar also urges all human rights defenders around the world to stand in solidarity with the Organization in order to protest this persecution and harassment, and to enable human rights to be enforced in Bangladesh.