The US Department of State has named Bangladeshi rights activist Mohammad Nur Khan as one of the 10 winners of its annual Global Human Rights Defenders award.

The State Department made the announcement on Wednesday.

In a statement, the State Department said over the past three decades, Nur Khan led two of Bangladesh's best-known domestic rights organisations -- Ain o Salish Kendra and Human Rights Support Society -- and partnered with international organisations to document human rights abuses and promote accountability in Bangladesh.

"His timely interventions, advocacy on behalf of families of victims of enforced disappearances, and leadership amongst the country's active civil society networks, have saved lives and cleared innocent victims of politically motivated charges," it said.

Nine other awardees are: Elaize de Souza Farias (Brazil), Chhim Sithar (Cambodia), Nino Lomjaria and Team (Georgia), Rosa Melania Reyes Velásquez (Honduras), Nasrin Sotoudeh (Iran), The legal team of the Badinan detainees, led by Bashdar Hassan (Iraq), Mohamed Ely El Her (Mauritania), Ding Jiaxi (People's Republic of China) and Ekoue David Joseph Dosseh (Togo).