Photo: Messenger
The assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15th August 1975 is a slaughterous history in the world politics. From that period, the people of Bangladesh have always been calling for identifying the killers of Bangabandu and his family members.
But after the ‘75 government, nobody took proper steps to this effect. Not only that, the government passed Indemnity Ordinance to stop the trial for killing Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. When the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Hasina took the charge as a Prime Minister of the country, she took initiative for trial with regard to the heinous killing of 15th August 1975 . The judgment had been declared, some of them were even hanged and some still remain outside of Bangladesh.
On 18th November, Canadian national television CBC has aired an investigative report on Noor Chowdhury, the self-confessed and convicted killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Noor Chowdhury is currently living in Canada. The Canadian government has been reluctant to deport Chowdhury for unknown reasons whatsoever.
In the video report, the fugitive convicted Noor Chowdhury was caught on video in Toronto for the first time. The 42-minute report, titled “Why the killer of Bangladesh’s first president is free in Canada”, was aired at 8:00am on Saturday on CBC Television’s popular investigative segment “The Fifth State”. Canada has an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, but it also has a longstanding policy of not extraditing individuals to countries where they face the death penalty. This is because Canada abolished the death penalty in 1972 and considers it to be a cruel and unusual punishment.
But there are exceptions too! The Canadian government extradited Omar Khadr in 2016 to Saudi Arabia, where he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for terrorist offences. Khadr was a child soldier when he committed the crimes, and human rights groups argued that his extradition was a violation of international law. In 2014, the Canadian government extradited Hassan Diab to France, where he was tried for the 1985 bombings of two Paris department stores. Diab was acquitted of all charges, and his lawyer argued that his extradition was a violation of his right to a fair trial. In 2002, the Canadian government extradited Samuel Tamba to Sierra Leone, where he was convicted of war crimes.
Tamba was sentenced to 17 years in prison, but he was released after serving only two years. His lawyer argued that his extradition was a violation of his right to not be tortured or subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. On the other hand, Canada refused to extradite Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, two Canadian citizens who were accused of involvement in the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people. Canada cited concerns about the reliability of the evidence against the two men and the risk of a miscarriage of justice if they were extradited to India.
Fugitive Noor Chowdhury fled Bangladesh in 1975, shortly after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He has been living in Canada since then. The Canadian government is yet to take any steps to send Noor back home. The people of Bangladesh requested the Canadian government to take proper steps against Noor. But in this case, they can’t take initiative as their excuse is extradition law and anti-death penalty. This is based on a number of international treaties and conventions. These treaties and conventions require that Canada only extradite individuals to countries that meet certain standards, such as providing a fair trial, and prohibiting torture.
The actual certain standards are based on case scenarios. They assess each case individually. Also, judges have very limited discretion to refuse extradition requests. They can only refuse a request if there are “substantial reasons” to believe that the requesting country will not provide a fair trial, or if the extradition would violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Also, the last person who faced the death penalty (Majed), confessed to what happened there. Again, advances in forensic science and investigative techniques have significantly enhanced the ability to uncover and analyse evidence, even when it has been exposed to the elements or degraded over time. The Canadian government gives statements in its bid to protect human rights, but how can they save a murderer? How is it logical?
Noor Chowdhury confessed to the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But Canadian government provided him with shelters and they kept silent about Noor Chowdhury. So, the people of Bangladesh may ask a question as to how they talk about human rights? We expect that they realise and understand on the much-needed extradition of Noor Chowdhury to Bangladesh.
The people of Bangladesh hope that Canada will recheck the evidence and reconsider its decision not to extradite Noor Chowdhury to Bangladesh. It is believed that there is sufficient evidence to support his extradition, and that he deserves to face trial for his alleged crimes. We also hope that the Canadian government should respect the demand of Bangladeshi people and take necessary steps to send Noor Chowdhury to Bangladesh as soon as possible.
The writer is Assistant Professor and Chairman, Department of Criminology and Police Science, CU
Messenger/Fameema
