High Court stays Bangla rights activist's remand

Bangladesh's High Court today stayed for six weeks a lower court's order to send a rights activist on a five-day police remand and ordered his immediate return to jail.
Odhikar's Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan Suvhro, allegedly linked closely with fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, was arrested yesterday on charges of misleading people by disseminating "false information" about police actions against ultra rightwing Hefazat-e-Isam three months ago.
"The (HC) bench ordered his immediate return to jail from police custody but allowed authorities to interrogate him at the jail gate," a court official told newsmen.
A Dhaka court yesterday ordered Shuvro to be remanded in custody for five days rejecting his bail plea.

The High Court order came as several foreign rights groups joined main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party in demanding his release while the government said Shuvto committed an offence that damaged the image of the country to the world.
"Odhikar is working with a political motive," Information Minister Hassanunul Haque Inu told news briefing today.

Shuvro was held for uploading a report on the Odhikar's website, claiming that 61 people were killed during the May 5 police drive to chase Hefazat activists out of the Dhaka city.
The newly floated Hefazat, allegedly backed by Jamaat and main opposition BNP, had enforced their Dhaka siege programme on that day sparking a deadly violence.

Officials conformed deaths of 21 people including policemen in Dhaka and the outskirts of the capital, and south-eastern port city of Chittagong on May 5 and on the next day while pro-opposition newspapers at that time put the figure as high as 28.
Odhikar is a leading independent rights group but Shuvro, a former deputy attorney general during the past BNP-led four-party rightwing government, is widely known for his stubborn anti-Awami League attitude.
A former left leaning activist, Shuvro is also now allegedly linked closely with Jamaat, whose leaders are now facing justice for the 1971 liberation war time "crimes against humanity" siding with Pakistani troops.