Joynal Abedin Khan :
Interpol, an international network of national police Organisation (has so far issued red alert notices against 83 Bangladeshi nationals living in different countries. But none of them has ever been brought back to Bangladesh.
It (Interpol) issued red alert against the country’s some top criminals, who are reportedly living in India, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, Police headquarters sources said.
Nur Hossain, an accused in the Narayanganj seven-murder case, has had an Interpol red notice issued against him. Though he was arrested by Indian police for illegal trespassing in June last year, he has not yet been brought to Bangladesh, Detective Branch (DB) of Police sources said.
Bangladesh sought his extradition in writing and India gave assurances that he would be sent back, but there is no implementation of the assurance till today, they said.
There is also no initiative in reality to bring back war-crime convict Abdul Jabbar and BNP’s Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman although red notices have been issued.
A red notice was issued last week against Jabbar to locate the fugitive war criminal, said Mahbubur Rahman, Chief of Bangladesh’s Interpol National Central Bureau and Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police Headquarters.
Even after Interpol red notices issued, Bangladesh
authorities still have to utilize diplomatic channels to bring back them. It is a difficult task, particularly when many countries do not have extradition agreements with Bangladesh, he said.
An accused or a convict hunted across the globe to face Bangladeshi courts are living happily in other countries, the police official said.
Several accused in the Bangabandhu murder case, August 21 grenade attack case and the 10-truck arms haul case are among them, he added.
Interpol issued red notices against few murderers of Bangabandhu. Of them, AM Rashed Chowdhury is now in the United States, Nur Chowdhury is in Canada, while Abdul Mazed and Risaldar Mosleh Uddin are in India, according to sources in the Home Ministry.
Red notices have also been issued against war crimes convicts Abul Kalam Azad and Abdul Jabar, he said.
AIG Mahbub said that Interpol help is usually sought to bring back wanted persons from other countries.
“The organisation receives our request, issues a notice to trace the location of the wanted person and once they get information of his or her whereabouts, inform us,” he said.
After that, extradition of an accused or convict depends entirely on diplomatic effort. Interpol has nothing to do with it, sources said.
Mahbub explained that Interpol does not have the right to make arrests. The authority can only be exercised by the police of the country where the wanted person lives.
Interpol’s press office said the General Secretariat does not send officers to arrest individuals who are the subject of a red notice.
Many of Interpol’s member countries, however, consider a red notice a valid request for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bilateral extradition treaty, Intelligence sources said.
In cases where arrests are made based on a red notice, these are made by national police officials in Interpol member countries, they said.
A home ministry official working with monitoring the issue, on request not to be named, said that there were many legal complications involved in bringing somebody back to face the courts, especially if they had sought political asylum abroad. Once somebody takes shelter in a foreign country, their fate is determined by the laws and courts under whose jurisdiction they live, he said.
Interpol, an international network of national police Organisation (has so far issued red alert notices against 83 Bangladeshi nationals living in different countries. But none of them has ever been brought back to Bangladesh.
It (Interpol) issued red alert against the country’s some top criminals, who are reportedly living in India, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, Police headquarters sources said.
Nur Hossain, an accused in the Narayanganj seven-murder case, has had an Interpol red notice issued against him. Though he was arrested by Indian police for illegal trespassing in June last year, he has not yet been brought to Bangladesh, Detective Branch (DB) of Police sources said.
Bangladesh sought his extradition in writing and India gave assurances that he would be sent back, but there is no implementation of the assurance till today, they said.
There is also no initiative in reality to bring back war-crime convict Abdul Jabbar and BNP’s Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman although red notices have been issued.
A red notice was issued last week against Jabbar to locate the fugitive war criminal, said Mahbubur Rahman, Chief of Bangladesh’s Interpol National Central Bureau and Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police Headquarters.
Even after Interpol red notices issued, Bangladesh
authorities still have to utilize diplomatic channels to bring back them. It is a difficult task, particularly when many countries do not have extradition agreements with Bangladesh, he said.
An accused or a convict hunted across the globe to face Bangladeshi courts are living happily in other countries, the police official said.
Several accused in the Bangabandhu murder case, August 21 grenade attack case and the 10-truck arms haul case are among them, he added.
Interpol issued red notices against few murderers of Bangabandhu. Of them, AM Rashed Chowdhury is now in the United States, Nur Chowdhury is in Canada, while Abdul Mazed and Risaldar Mosleh Uddin are in India, according to sources in the Home Ministry.
Red notices have also been issued against war crimes convicts Abul Kalam Azad and Abdul Jabar, he said.
AIG Mahbub said that Interpol help is usually sought to bring back wanted persons from other countries.
“The organisation receives our request, issues a notice to trace the location of the wanted person and once they get information of his or her whereabouts, inform us,” he said.
After that, extradition of an accused or convict depends entirely on diplomatic effort. Interpol has nothing to do with it, sources said.
Mahbub explained that Interpol does not have the right to make arrests. The authority can only be exercised by the police of the country where the wanted person lives.
Interpol’s press office said the General Secretariat does not send officers to arrest individuals who are the subject of a red notice.
Many of Interpol’s member countries, however, consider a red notice a valid request for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bilateral extradition treaty, Intelligence sources said.
In cases where arrests are made based on a red notice, these are made by national police officials in Interpol member countries, they said.
A home ministry official working with monitoring the issue, on request not to be named, said that there were many legal complications involved in bringing somebody back to face the courts, especially if they had sought political asylum abroad. Once somebody takes shelter in a foreign country, their fate is determined by the laws and courts under whose jurisdiction they live, he said.
