South Asians for Human Rights, a regional network of human rights defenders, in a statement on Wednesday expressed its deep concern over the two-year jail sentence of internationally acclaimed human rights defender Adilur Rahman Khan and his colleague ASM Nasiruddin Elan in a case over their fact-finding report in 2013.

The SAHR called for immediate release of Adilur and Elan and stopping hate campaigns or harassment against them.

The SAHR also strongly urged the government to end harassment of human rights defenders and civil society organisations.

It also called for urgent review all cases filed under Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act 2006 to prevent miscarriages of justice.

The statement said that Section 57 of the ICT Act and its use had been widely criticised by Bangladeshi and international organisations since it came into force as being in contravention of the right to freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

On September 14, the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal jailed Adilur and Elan for two years and fined them Tk 10,000 each in the case filed with the Gulshan police station in 2013 under Section 57(2) of the ICT Act.

Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law winner Adilur is the secretary of rights organisation Odhikar and Nasiruddin is its director.

Various international and national rights organisations and activists have condemned the conviction of rights defenders Adilur and Elan.