Anti Discrimination Legal Forum

29/07/2025

An important seminar on the 'July Commemoration and the implementation of the Fact-Finding Mission’s recommendations' was held on 29 July 2025. The event was organized by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner.

A delegation of ADLF comprising Md. Monir Hossen, Shah Md. Babar, Somaiya Shahriar Fida, Advocate, and Noman Parvez attended today’s event as invited guests.

Professor Mohammad Yunus, Hon'ble Chief Advisor and other Advisors of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, Akhter Hossain, Member Secretary of NCP, Senior UN officials, diplomats,prominent human rights activists, representatives of international organizations, government officials, and politicians were also present at the program.

13/07/2025

Anti Discrimination Legal Forum, in collaboration with the North South University, Department of Law, is organising an insightful event “Expected Reforms in the Bench and Bar"

Date: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Time: 7:00 PM
Venue: Moot Court Room (NAC 616), North South University.

Key Speakers:
- Muhammad Imman Ali: Former Judge, Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
- Tanim Hussain Shawon: Barrister-at-law, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
- Rashna Imam: Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
- Anita Ghazi Rahman: Barrister-at-law, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
- Ayesha Akhter: Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh & Legal Specialist, BLAST

Opening Remarks by:
Dr. Md. Rizwanul Islam, Professor & Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, NSU

Session Chair:
Dr. Ishtiaque Ahmed, Associate Professor & Chairman, Department of Law, NSU

Moderator:
Advocate Saquib Rahman , Senior Lecturer, Department of Law, NSU.

We invite you all to be part of this engaging discussion with eminent legal minds as they explore transformative reforms for the legal profession in Bangladesh. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights and contribute to meaningful conversations!

06/06/2025

Anti Discrimination Legal Forum (ADLF) extends heartfelt wishes of peace, compassion, and unity to all who are celebrating Eid ul-Adha.

May this Eid bring comfort to the oppressed, strength to the marginalized, and hope to those still seeking justice.

Eid Ul Adha Mubarak from Anti-Discrimintaion Legal Forum (ADLF).

20/05/2025

12/04/2025

Lawyers, Legal Academics and Human Rights Activists Condemn the Arbitrary and Unlawful Detention of Meghna Alam, Actress, under the Special Powers Act 1974.

Note: Not all signatories are members of our Forum, and the statement was not issued in the name or capacity of the Forum. However, as many of our members have endorsed it, we have shared the statement from our page.

11/04/2025

We strongly demand the immediate release of Ms. Meghna Alam and the repeal of the Special Powers Act, 1974. We further condemn this unlawful and arbitrary arrest in the strongest terms.

11/04/2025

Our Co-founder and Coordinator, Nafiul Alam Shupto participated in the Youth Rights Forum held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 27 March to 29 March 2025 at the invitation of Amnesty International. The forum was energized by the dynamic presence of activists from across the South Asian region.

10/04/2025

A timely writeup by Mr. Quazi Omar Foysal.

Bangladesh made written and/or oral submissions in the four advisory opinions related to Palestine.

09/04/2025

Copied from Mr. David Bergman’s facebook post:

“The arrests of people like Tureen Afroz on what increasingly appears to be a fabricated shooting case relating to the July/August killings undermines the overall process of justice for accountability for the July/August killings - as indeed does the arrests of some others before her on similarly fake cases. (I use the terms "Fabricated" in the sense whilst the shooting may have happened, Afroz's involvement is evidence-less)

The Bangladesh government, and its supporters, quite rightly talk about mis/dis-information undermining the government, but actually, it is arrests like this for which the government is ultimately responsible, which will in the end do far more damage to it's reputation.

The UN estimates that over 1000 protestors/onlookers were killed by law enforcement authorities in July/August. Those actually criminally responsible for the killings should be held to account. It is difficult, as of now, before any criminal charges have been laid and trials have started at the International Crimes Tribunal, to assess how fair and just that process will be (though changes to the law, and the involvement of an international lawyer are positive) but if the Bangladesh government is not careful, however fair that process might turn out to be, it will be totally undermined by the politicised arrests outside the ICT process

The current interim government inherited Bangladesh's highly problematic FIR process which allows citizens to list with police anyone as an "accused" and then allows the police to arrest anyone whose name is listed even if they have no evidence at all of their involvement in the crime. Combined with a magistracy that feels/is unable to act with any independent professionalism, this result in that anyone arrested is remanded into police detention and then jail for considerable period of time before eventually getting bail - for crimes they never committed and where there was never any evidence to support their arrest in the first place

Whilst the interim government cannot be directly blamed for how the system operated immediately after August 5th 2024 (particularly as the system was manipulated by political parties and actors outside its control) it should by now - eight months into its tenure - have set up a a strong independent professional centralised system to ensure that all those detained on false cases should be bailed, their cases removed, and no new arbitrary arrests take place. So far this has not been done.

The credibility of the government and the credibility of its attempt to hold those truly responsible for the July/August killings requires this to happen NOW. Otherwise, and it is a very unfortunate things to say, it will quite rightly become increasingly criticised from both inside and outside the county for delivering "justice" in much the same way as did the Awami League - now routinely derided by the government and its supporters as "fascist" - during its period of government. “

A Dhaka court yesterday placed Tureen Afroz, former senior prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), on a four-day remand in an attempted murder case.