Letter of solidarity to Laureate Zafrullah Chowdhury

Zafrullah Chowdhury (RLA 1992) signed a joint statement against a judgment of the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh, which had ruled that a British journalist’s blog was in contempt of court. As a result, Chowdhury was sentenced to 1 hour in the custody of the court and the payment of a fine by the same court.

Basil Fernando, Director of Asian Human Rights Commission, addressed the issue in an open letter to Zafrullah Chowdhury: “We need to also remind ourselves that our justice systems are failing us, and failing us badly… Developing good systems of justice is one of the major areas where we have failed. Not enough of us speak out about this. Your wisdom in reminding us of this needs to be appreciated.”

The RLA recently submitted an urgent appeal to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, to urge him to issue a public statement about Chowdury’s conviction.