Sigma Huda is a Bangladeshi lawyer. She was the founding president of Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) and founder and secretary of Institute for Law and Development (ILD).
[
In 2007, she was awarded ''Pope John Paul II Wellspring of Freedom Award'' for dedicating her life to upholding human rights and combating injustice.]Nazmul Huda
Nazmul Huda (born 6 January 1943) is a Bangladeshi barrister and politician. He served as the minister of information (1991–1996) and the minister of communications (2001–2006) of the government of Bangladesh. He was a 4-term Jatiya Sangsad ...
, is a former Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...
government minister and barrister.
Career
Huda was the lawyer of Anup Chetia
Anup Chetia ( Assamese: অনুপ চেতিয়া) (real name Golap Baruah also known as Sunil Baruah, Bhaijan or Ahmed) is the General Secretary of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam in Assam. He is also one of the founder le ...
alias Golap Barua, a leader of ULFA
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Assamese: সংযুক্ত মুক্তি বাহিনী, অসম) is an armed separatist organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. It seeks to establish an indep ...
who filed for asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
in Bangladesh.
Activism
Since 2004, Huda has served as a United Nations special rapporteur on human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
. She is also known for her views on prostitution. In her report for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, she says:
Charges and convictions
In 2007, Huda was brought before a Bangladeshi court on bribery charges filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, whereupon she was sentenced to three years imprisonment as an accomplice to a bribe in the amount of Taka 2.40 crore (approximately US$400,000) for which her husband was convicted of abuse of power and corruption.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of the judges and lawyers issued a statement on September 2, 2007, expressing concern that Huda was not given a fair trial. He said it received reports indicating that the right to legal representation and the independence of the court were severely affected during her trial. "Defense lawyers felt pressured, they had no opportunity to visit her in prison, and could only meet with her at the end of the hearings. They also had difficulties accessing the case files and other relevant information, thus compromising their ability to ensure an adequate defence."
Personal life
Huda is married to barrister Nazmul Huda
Nazmul Huda (born 6 January 1943) is a Bangladeshi barrister and politician. He served as the minister of information (1991–1996) and the minister of communications (2001–2006) of the government of Bangladesh. He was a 4-term Jatiya Sangsad ...
, a former Bangladesh Nationalist Party minister, former leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF), National Alliance (NA), and present leader of Bangladesh Manabadhikar Party (BMP).
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huda, Sigma
Living people
Bangladeshi women lawyers
United Nations special rapporteurs
Bangladeshi officials of the United Nations
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
20th-century Bangladeshi lawyers
21st-century Bangladeshi lawyers