Lord Avebury, a strong advocate of war crimes trial in Bangladesh and co-chair of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, passed away yesterday.

He was 87.

Avebury, born Eric Reginald Lubbock, died peacefully in his south London home with his wife Lindsay and other family members by his side.

The longest-serving Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords and veteran human rights campaigner had been suffering from blood cancer for more than a year.

Avebury, born on September 29, 1928, served as the Liberal Member of Parliament from 1962 to 1970, and served in the House of Lords, having inherited the title of Baron Avebury in 1971.

In 1999, when most hereditary peers were removed from the House of Lords, he was elected by his fellow Liberal Democrats to remain.

Throughout his time in politics he was at the forefront of human rights activism, both in and beyond parliament. In 1976, he founded the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, which he chaired for the next 21 years. He continued to be its vice-chair until his death.

He had also established the International Bangladesh Foundation in

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