NHRC needs free, fair probe unit
Award-winning Bangladeshi-origin British lawyer tells The Independent
MUHAMMAD YEASIN
Bangladeshi-origin British award winning lawyer Barrister MA Muid Khan has stressed the need for a free, fair and impartial investigation unit for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Bangladesh so that it can work independently to identify criminals violating the human rights of the general public. Barrister Khan, who won the Best Human Rights Lawyer of England and Wales 2016, also expressed his desire to provide free legal services to the poor in Bangladesh. In an exclusive interview with The Independent recently, he also pushed for ensuring participation of all major political parties in the next general elections to uphold the democracy in the country. Barrister Khan also stressed the need for enactment of a law so that all state organs can work independently, which, he says, is pivotal for taking a country forward. Khan received the prestigious CILEX President Award-2016 of England by beating 20,000 lawyers. He is engaged in human rights activities in England and has successfully dealt with several human rights cases there.
The CILEX President Award, given to an individual lawyer for his/her outstanding contribution to the legal field, is one of the most prestigious national legal awards and honour a British lawyer can receive in his career as a Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer. It is for the first time that a British Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer of Bangladeshi origin has been so honoured.
He is also the first British-Asian lawyer to receive this award. No other lawyer from Indian, Pakistani or any other Asian background has received this prestigious award.
Regarding the present state of human rights in Bangladesh, Khan said that the government should be careful about forced disappearances and encounters as the law is equal for everyone. Our constitution has provided equal legal rights to everyone. So, the government should be more careful about such incidents, he added.
At times, the government has to take steps against criminals based on the doctrine of necessity. But it could bring them to justice by appointing state-defence lawyers in order to provide them with legal rights so that no questions could be raised over such cases in future, he said.
Khan stressed that every incident of killing should be properly investigated, as it was the governments duty to uphold the rule of law and ensure justice for all in accordance with the Constitution.
Besides the CILEX award, Khan has earned many other laurels in the course of his career. In April 2011, the Law Society, Bar Council CILEX jointly honoured him with their joint prestigious legal award Advocacy in the face of Adversity 2011.
In September 2011, Khan was one of the top seven shortlisted Legal Executive Lawyers of England Wales for the Law Societys prestigious Excellence Award 2011.
In 2012, the Law Society again shortlisted him for their prestigious national legal award Excellence Award 2012.
In 2012, the International Bar Association (IBA) selected Khan from the United Kingdom for their prestigious International Pro Bono Award. On 30th May 2012, the CILEX Judges honoured him with their prestigious national legal award CILEX Pro-Bono Medal 2011. Whos Who 2011 British-Bangladeshi also recognised his outstanding achievements with their prestigious community award Whos Who 2011 as one of the most successful and recognized figures of the British Bangladeshi community. Khan runs his free legal advice centre every Thursday. He also gives free legal advice to his community by running two top popular live legal shows on NTV Europe Sky Channel 838Legal Update with NTV every Saturday at 6pm and Law Rights (Aiyeen o Odhikar) on the last Saturday of every month. He is actively involved in various voluntary and charitable activities of the Princes Trust, Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Research UK, Christian Aid, Muslim Hands, Jewish Charity, and several other national and international organisations.
