Human rights activist Noyon acquitted from false case

Human rights activist Al-Amin Noyon, who has been working to protect the rights of Bangladeshi migrant workers, has been acquitted of a false human trafficking case by the court.

Judge Md Rafiqul Islam of the Anti-Human Trafficking Offence Tribunal in Dhaka issued the order today (20 October).

In addition to Noyon, other accused in the case, Saudi expatriate Md. Shafiqul Islam, and the executive director of SHISUK, Sakiul Millat Morshed, were also acquitted, according to a press release from BRAC's migration programme.

On 15 December 2023, police informed Al-Amin Noyon that an arrest warrant had been issued against him. He was later presented in a lower court and sent to jail. Subsequently, it was revealed that a petition case had been filed against Noyon on 26 June 2023 in the Anti-Human Trafficking Offence Tribunal. However, Noyon had not received any prior notice of an arrest warrant.

Since 2017, Al-Amin has been working as the manager of the Migration Welfare Center at BRAC. The case against him was filed for an incident almost a decade ago, in 2013, when Noyon was working for SHISUK, an NGO. At that time, SHISUK provided legal assistance to victims of human trafficking. In 2013, several victims who had returned from Iraq filed cases in court. The petition case, filed on 26 June 2023, accused Noyon of inciting those victims to file the cases.

Noyon was granted bail on 20 December last year. Over the following eight months, multiple hearings took place, and after the final hearing on charge formation on 14 October, the court ordered the acquittal of all the accused.

In recognition of his contributions to the fight against human trafficking, Noyon received the Trafficking in Persons Hero Award from the United States this year. In 2023, he was honoured with the Sir Fazle Hasan Abed Values Award from BRAC for his integrity and dedication. In 2020, the United Nations Development Programme recognised him as a "changemaker."