Rights organisation ‘Odhikar’ denied registration renewal
The rights body applied for 10 years extension of its registration to the NGO Bureau after its registration expired in 2015
The NGO Affairs Bureau of the Prime Minister's Office has cancelled the registration of Odhikar, a rights organisation.
The rights body applied for 10 years extension of its registration to the NGO Bureau after its registration expired in 2015.
The NGO Bureau rejected the appeal Sunday (6 June).
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In an order issued Sunday, the NGO Bureau said the registration of "Odhikar" has been cancelled for various reasons including engaging in activities that tarnish the image of the country in the international arena.
The reasons for the cancellation of registration include - not providing information required for registration and non-payment of increased fees and VAT imposed under the new law, no response or explanation for objections to eight financial audit reports of foreign-funded projects, creating anti-state issues on its website (odhikar.org), and not responding appropriately to intelligence report on inconsistencies in financial transactions in three projects.
Earlier in 2013, Odhikar Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan was arrested in connection with publishing a report on casualties during a crackdown on a Hefajat-e-Islam rally on 5 May the same year.
