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

Justice Md Rafiqul Islam of the Human Trafficking Offenses Tribunal in Dhaka issued the order today (October 20).

Besides Noyon, other accused in the case, Saudi expatriate Md. Shafiqul Islam, and SHISUK executive director Sakiul Millat Morshed, were also acquitted, according to a press release from the BRAC Migration Program.

On December 15, 2023, police informed Al-Amin Noyon that an arrest warrant had been issued for him. He was later produced before a lower court and sent to jail. Subsequently, it was revealed that a petition was filed against Noyon on June 26, 2023 before the Human Trafficking Offenses Tribunal. However, Noyon had received no prior notification of an arrest warrant.

Since 2017, Al-Amin has worked as head of BRAC’s Migration Protection Center. The charge against him was filed over 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 returned from Iraq filed complaints in court. The motion, filed on June 26, 2023, accused Noyon of inciting these victims to file a complaint.

Noyon was released on bail on December 20. Over the next eight months, several hearings were held, and after the final hearing on the formation of charges on October 14, the court ordered the acquittal of all defendants.

In recognition of his contributions to the fight against human trafficking, Noyon received this year’s Trafficking in Persons Hero Award from the United States. In 2023, he received the Sir Fazle Hasan Abed Values ​​Award from BRAC for his integrity and dedication. In 2020, the United Nations Development Program recognized him as a “changemaker”.