Red Notices have been issued against 83 Bangladeshis by the International Criminal Police Organisation – better known as Interpol – but not a single one of them has ever been brought back to face the music.
They have been issued against some of the country’s top criminals. Although most of them are believed to be living in neighbouring India, with whom an extradition treaty exists, none have been brought back.
Nur Hossain, an accused in the Narayanganj seven murder case, has had an Interpol Red Notice issued against him. He was arrested in June last year by Indian police for illegal
trespassing.
But even though Bangladesh sought his extradition in writing, and India gave assurances that he would be handed over, he still has not been repatriated.
War crimes convict Abdul Jabbar and Bangladesh Nationalist Party Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman have joined the infamous list of Bangladeshis for whom Red Notices have been issued that includes politicians, top criminals and war crimes convicts.
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.
The Interpol press office confirmed this in an email to the Dhaka Tribune.
Even after Interpol Red Notices are issued, Bangladeshi authorities must still utilise diplomatic channels to repatriate them – a difficult task, particularly when many countries do not have extradition agreements with Bangladesh.
Accused or convicted men being hunted across the globe to face Bangladeshi courts are leading happy lives as citizens of other
countries.
Several accused in the Bangabandhu murder case, August 21 grenade attack case and the 10-truck arms haul case number among them.
Among the six murderers of Bangabandhu, Interpol issued Red Notices against AM Rashed Chowdhury, who is now in the United States, Nur Chowdhury who is in Canada and Abdul Mazed and Risaldar Mosleh Uddin who 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 Jabbar.
AIG Mahbub told the Dhaka Tribune that Interpol help is usually sought to bring back wanted persons outside of Bangladesh jurisdiction.
“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, repatriating the accused or convict relies entirely on diplomatic channels. “Interpol has nothing to do with it.”
Mahbub explained that Interpol does not have the right to make arrests – that authority lies in the law of the place where the wanted person is located and can only be exercised by their police.
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.
In cases where arrests are made based on a Red Notice, these are made by national police officials in Interpol member countries.
Red Notices serve to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action, according to the Interpol website.
Neither Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali nor Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque were available for comment as they are both currently abroad.
A ministry official tasked with monitoring the issue, who asked not to be named, told the Dhaka Tribune 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 reside, he said.
Another source, asking not to be named, alleged that if the government truly wished it, it would be possible to repatriate wanted persons.
Source: Dhaka Tribune