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Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Makhachkala resident convicted of financing terrorism
2023-09-15
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
In which the Kavkaz Uzel reporter manages to make not many words carry the entire information load of almost no words at all.
[KavkazUzel] The court found a resident of Dagestan guilty of financing terrorism for providing monetary assistance to members of a terrorist organization and sentenced her to eight years in prison.

The investigation and the court established that in December 2021 and January 2022, a resident of Makhachkala participated in the activities of an international terrorist organization,
... ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hizb-ut Tahrir? Something else altogether? It really wouldn’t be that hard for the reporter to give us a hint...
providing financial assistance to its participants, the investigative department of the Investigative Committee for Dagestan reported.

The woman was found guilty of financing terrorism (Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia). She was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in a general regime colony, according to today’s message on the department’s website.

The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that in July the court found a resident of the Khasavyurt district, Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov,
...among other activities, he sent funds to ISIS jihadi Abdulkadir Masharipov, a Uighur, who killed 39 at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul on January 1, 2017...
guilty of promoting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization for transferring a thousand dollars to a member of a terrorist organization and sentenced him to 5.5 years in prison.
Related:
Dagestan: 2023-09-14 Egypt’s ban on veil in schools sparks debate on social media
Dagestan: 2023-09-13 Gadzhiev's friends are stunned by the harsh sentence
Dagestan: 2023-09-04 A native of the North Caucasus suffers attack in New Moscow because of her hijab
Related:
Makhachkala: 2023-08-22 Colleagues of Hajiyev assessed the chances of his acquittal
Makhachkala: 2023-08-01 Good Morning
Makhachkala: 2023-08-01 Colleagues of Hajiyev held pickets in Makhachkala
Related:
Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov: 2023-07-13 Resident of Dagestan convicted of financing terrorism
Abdurakhman Abdurakhmanov: 2022-06-28 FSB reports on the arrest of an accomplice of terrorists
Link


Down Under
Australia migrant colonist briefs
2017-07-17
Not much, and all from the Daily Mail:
Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali urges Australians to boycott ALL halal-certified food so they're not funding Muslim schools and mosques - and wants immigrants to be quizzed on child brides and female circumcision
11/07/17
An internationally prominent Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali is urging Australians to boycott halal-certified food so they're not funding Muslim schools, mosques and Islamist propaganda.

Australian pediatrician dubbed 'Dr Jihad' after joining ISIS will 'die in Raqqa' after appearing in twisted propaganda video
05/07/17
Australian paediatrician Tareq 'Dr Jihad' Kamleh, who is fighting for ISIS, will likely soon be killed as coalition forces prepare to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa where he and 4,000 jihadists are

Brother of notorious ISIS terrorist has parole revoked after 'threatening to kill the father of a 16-year-old opponent and "put holes" in another man at his son's soccer match'
04/07/17
Ahmed Elomar (pictured) allegedly threatened to kill the supporter moments after an on-field incident during an under-16s match at Kooringa Reserve, in Sydney's west, in May.

Sheikh who angered hardline Muslims by denouncing Sharia law asks followers for $30,000 for security guards and steel-barred windows at his home because he fears for his life
04/07/17
The controversial sheikh who angered hardline Muslims by denouncing Sharia law has asked his supporters for $30,000 to pay for security guards and steel-barred windows at his home because he fears for his life. Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi, who has previously called for Islamic schools in Australia to be shut down and criticised extreme Islamic group Hizb-ut Tahrir, said abuse he received from radical Muslims grew so bad he was forced to abandon his home and seek refuge.
Link


Bangladesh
Militant leader Rizwan Haroon missing from Dhaka airport
2017-05-14
[Dhaka Tribune] Militant recruiter and terrorist financier Rizwan Haroon has reportedly gone missing after he slipped in through Shahjalal International Airport immigration last Thursday.

Rizwan, who is on the Home Ministry’s most wanted list, apparently entered the county unnoticed after arriving on-board an 8am Emirates flight from London.

Sources claimed that law enforcement agencies conducted drives immediately after the gaffe was detected but Rizwan had already gone underground.

The co-founder and managing director of Lakehead Grammar School, is being investigated for financing and patronising militancy in Bangladesh.

The school reportedly was a breeding ground for murderous Moslems and employed controversial holy warrior leaders as instructors since its founding.

The sources also said that an Education Ministry report sent to the Home Ministry on January 23 this year advocated legal action against Rizwan.

The insiders said that roughly 12 days later, the Home Ministry sent letters to the Armed Forces Division, Police Headquarters and the Education Ministry urging for required steps to be taken.

A bigwig, working in the Police Headquarters, said they have been notified of Rizwan’s entry and they were investigating the incident.

However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
 when Home Minister Assaduzzaman Khan Kamal was contacted from the Dhaka Tribune around 8pm Saturday, three days after it allegedly took place, he admitted that he was not notified of the incident until then.

But, Kamal was quick to assure that if any such incident took place, the Home Ministry would take prompt actions.

Rizwan, according to sources, had two Bangladeshi passports (BH0634137 and AE6016933) both of which expires near this year’s end.

In 2006, Rizwan co-founded Lakehead Grammar School (LGS) with Hizb-ut Tahrir Ameer Prof Dr Golam Moula.

He became radicalised during his PhD programme in United Kingdom through Jamatul Moslemin Ameer Abu Isa Al Rafai, a Jordanian who migrated to UK.

Rizwan, reportedly, organised activities of Jamatul Moslemin (JM) in Bangladesh since 2002 with pro al-Qaeda ideology and motivated mostly high class/intellectual community members for so-called Jihad.

Sources said he went to UK this year on January 27.
Link


Bangladesh
YouTube training videos key tool for Bangladeshi militants
2017-03-23
[Dhaka Tribune] Law enforcement agencies say homegrown bully boy krazed killer outfits are using readily available videos from the Internet to train their recruits in combat, ideology and organising skills.

The videos are widespread even in the world’s largest video sharing website, YouTube.

The Chittagong-based krazed killer outfit Shaheed Hamza Brigade was found to be fully dependent on online videos for the training of its members. The Hamza Brigade members took battle training with the help of these videos in remote hill areas of Banshkhali in Chittagong, said Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 7).

On Tuesday, RAB caught five members of the New Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (New JMB) including engineers who graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) in Dhaka. The group had been taking combat training from online videos of foreign krazed killers, said RAB 10.

A cursory search on YouTube using the terms "jihad training" results in many videos that show bandidos Lions of Islam from groups like the international terrorist organization Harkat-ul Jihad or the Iranian group Jaish ul-Adl exercising, doing weapons training, battle formations and hand-to-hand combats.

There are also thousands of videos from the Syrian war, filmed by al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
 Front using GoPro.

The terrorist groups Ansarullah Bangla Team and Harkatul Jihad Bangladesh also use online videos to brainwash lower income and illiterate people into militancy and extremism, law enforcement members said.

Last year the bully boy organization Hizb-ut Tahrir, banned in Bangladesh, conducted an online video conference across the world for its members. Bangladeshi members of the group also viewed the conference, intelligence reports said.

Intelligence agencies and detectives said the bully boy groups had been using the Internet to recruit and groom its members due to the absence of government monitoring on the web.

As the government cannot impose any bar over viewing such videos on the web, the bandidos Lions of Islam can easily roam around the virtual world and enrich themselves in the ill-motivated sector receiving massive collection of krazed killer related videos and some others, said sources in BTRC.

Experts say the government should introduce techniques to stop such instigating videos in the same manner that pornographic websites and videos were controlled in the country recently.

Law enforcement sources said the leaders and the top people in these terrorist groups took krazed killer training from abroad by joining international groups in Afganistan, Iraq, Pakistain and other parts of the world. On the other hand, new recruits use the shortcut way of taking training through videos.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit Deputy Commissioner (Cyber Crime) Md Alimuzzaman said: "We often request the YouTube authorities to take down militancy related videos. They sometimes respond to our requests according to their policies.

"We have to introduce a combined system to stop the viewing of such videos." Most of the videos that the bandidos Lions of Islam or potential recruits were watching were made somewhere else, he added.

"It is rare for these videos to be made in Bangladesh," he said.

Respective cyber crime units in various law enforcement agencies have done good work on this issue, sources said. But the government should impose strong vigilance on the web by taking different measures, they said.

Bangladesh Police Headquarters’ Assistant Inspector General (Media) Sahely Ferdous told the Dhaka Tribune: "We have plans to ban such videos. It is an ongoing process with the government. Already we talked to Facebook and got a positive response. In the future, we will hopefully contact YouTube and other popular online sites."

The head of Police Bureau of Investigation, Deputy Inspector General Banaz Kumar Majumder, said: "The practice of using the web is not new for krazed killers. The krazed killer organizations use social media and other websites for their communication and training.

"Although there are no direct restrictions over such media, we are keeping watch on the viewers and arresting those who are involved with krazed killer activities in the country."

Prof Dr Md Ziaur Rahman, chairman of Department of Criminology at Dhaka University, said such practices are a threat to the country’s security. Although the problem cannot be fully solved, it can be controlled, he said.

Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Secretary Md Sarwar Alam declined to make any comment about the issue.
Link


Bangladesh
Ansarullah explosives coming through border
2016-04-07
[Dhaka Tribune] Upon analysis of the arms and explosives recovered from the dens of banned outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team in a recent drive in the capital, police’s Detective Branch (DB) found those have been coming from outside the country.

The organisation is reportedly taking support from other militant outfits, including Hizb-ut Tahrir and Jama’atul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB), in bringing these arms into the capital, according to sources.

“These arms and explosives are mainly coming from the hill tracks and border areas of the country,” says Md Didar Ahmed, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Didar Ahmed also said they are working to track down the route through which these arms make their way in, giving priority to finding out who support and finance the network of such activities. Police have already tracked down three Ansarullah dens and are working to uncover if any are left.

Meanwhile, the organisation has already shifted existing hubs to new locations after a joint drive by DB police and counter-terrorism and transnational crime (CT) unit saw the end of three such dens.

During this drive, interrogation and some recovered documents pointed to the fact that the organisation has eight hubs in the capital.

When inquired, Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of DMP and chief of the CT unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that even though the Ansarullah dens were shifted before they could take action, there would be continued efforts to locate them.

Sources in the DB informed that although Ansarullah members in the other dens fled, the raid from three hubs in Mohammadpur, Badda and Dakkhinkhan yielded documents with information on suspected members and two possible financiers.

Sources also said Ansarullah operational wing member Redowanul Azad Rana is currently in Malaysia from where he is trying to conduct activities in Bangladesh, along with an IT expert named Tamim Al Adnani.

Directed by these two, the existing local members are now reportedly trying to make “book bombs,” which are easily transferable and law enforcers might not suspect them.

A DB high official, requesting to remain anonymous, told the Dhaka Tribune that they have got proof that an organisation named Dawatul Islam is providing financial support to Ansarullah along with Hizb-ut Tahrir.
Dawatul Islam is a Moslem organisation based in London. The group was founded in 1978 from the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan-originated UK Islamic Mission to cater to East Bengali Muslims in Britain after the founding of Bangladesh in 1971. In 1990, the group Islamic Forum Europe broke off from Dawatul Islam, reportedly over Bangladeshi regional differences. The group is now based at another mosque, Jamiatul Ummah Bigland Street.
The raid of the Dakkhinkhan den yielded bombs set up inside books, usually dictionaries, said the official.

Upon contact, Mashruqure Rahman Khaled, deputy commissioner of DB police, said: “We are now analysing the evidence. We are looking into some suspects who used to live in the house, and trying to trace their locations.”
Link


Bangladesh
DB: 3 Hizb ut-Tahrir preachers identified
2015-09-14
[Dhaka Tribune] Officials of the Detective Branch of police have claimed to have identified three out of six speakers at the online political conference of banned Death Eater outfit Hizb-ut Tahrir held on September 4.

Of the trio, one is a private university teacher, who played key role in organising the event held somewhere near the capital. Another is a student of a private university in Dhaka. Around 740 users logged in to the designated website but only 400 among them attended the whole session. Among them were journalists, police and intelligence officials.

Although the conference was supposed to be aired live, the organisers uploaded a two-hour recorded video of the speeches after the scheduled time.

The law enforcers had incarcerated
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
 several members of the banned group ahead of the event for campaigning on the streets, but they did not stop the conference "for the sake of investigation."

"We have identified three of the speakers after analysing the video conference and arrest of its seven members, who actively took part in the conference," DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said yesterday.

Sources said the detectives had identified Shibli Ahmed, Karim Abu Jahidiur, Chowdhury Mohammad Galib and Harunur Rashid. Detectives are now trying to trace them.

Based on a tip-off, the DB cyber crime unit conducted a drive in the capital's Khilkhet area around 11pm on Saturday and arrested the seven Death Eaters. They are Ekramul Khayer alias Opu, Abdul Kaiyum, Nazmul Hasan alias Nipon, Ibrahim Sheikh, Rashedul Islam Sheikh, Ariful Islam and SM Tarek Amin. Huge number of leaflets, radical books and mobile phones were recovers from their possessions.

A case was filed under section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act. A Dhaka court later placed them each on a two-day remand. Of the arrestees, Opu, Kaiyum, Ibrahim and Rashed were arrested earlier and served jail time in cases filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to the Anti-Terrorism Act that is applied against outlawed groups, any activity of such organization -- in any form -- is considered as anti-state. They claim that caliphate will ensure justice in the society.

Having branches in a number of countries, Hizbut Tahrir
...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate...
 started its operation in Bangladesh in 2000 and was banned in 2009 for its involvement in Death Eater activities.

"Arif used Facebook as Enlighted Thinker while Tarek as ASM Tareq Amin. They used to post anti-state remarks on the social networking site," said Monirul, while addressing a briefing at the DMP media and community centre.

Also chief of DB police, Monirul said that the group had organised the online conference to declare their presence at national and international levels. Asked whether any defence officials were involved with Hizbut Tahrir, Monirul replied in the negative.
Link


Bangladesh
RAB: Farabi shows no remorse, denies involvement in the murder
2015-03-03
[Dhaka Tribune] Shafiur Rahman Farabi, prime suspect in the Avijit killing, has said during interrogation that the slain blogger-writer "has got what he deserved."

Although he claimed that he had nothing to do with the murder, Farabi praised the incident saying Avijit got the reward for mocking religion.

Ziaul Ahsan, additional director general (ADG) of RAB, told these to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Earlier in the day, Rapid Action Battalion brought Farabi in front of news hounds and said he had been nabbed from the capital's Jatrabari around 5:30am; he was trying to leave for Chittagong.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?

Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.

If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...
 seeking anonymity, a high official of RAB told the Dhaka Tribune that analysing CCTV footage from around the scene of the crime, they had identified five people who were following Avijit and his wife Bonna from the book fair premises.

"In the footage, one of those five men could be seen pointing at the couple when they were leaving the fair. Later, they went away and another team started following Avijit and Bonna," the RAB official said.

While addressing a briefing at the force's headquarters in Uttara in the capital, Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of the Legal and Media Wing of RAB, told news hounds yesterday that they have proofs that Farabi was involved with the killing.

Farabi had been posting photographs and news about Avijit and his family on social media for a long time and instigate others against him, Commander Khan said.

"On Thursday, one of his Facebook friends posted a photograph of Avijit soaked in blood and asked Farabi whether he had seen that photo. In reply, Farabi said yes.

"After that, Farabi wrote in a status update that he would be jugged
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
 within a day or two," Commander Khan said at the briefing.

The RAB director also cited another widely-discussed post put up by Farabi on social media in which he said Avijit would be killed once he came to Bangladesh from the USA.

In reply to a query, Commander Khan said: "No accused ever admit involvement right away. Information come out only after interrogation. We are still not sure whether Farabi was directly involved with the killing or not."

According to RAB, Farabi said during primary investigation that he came across Avijit Roy five years ago as both of them used to blog. At one point, they got into a conflict of opinions. Around two years ago, Avijit blocked Farabi. But Farabi kept on sending messages and threats using other media.

In 2010, Farabi, a former student of physics at the Chittagong University, joined banned Islamist Death Eater outfit Hizb-ut Tahrir. At that time, he got arrested and spent about a month in jail for his militancy links. He never completed his studies.

In February 2013, Farabi was arrested by police again after he gave threats to the Imam who conducted the janaza or the funeral prayer another slain blogger and Gonojagoron Moncho supporter Rajib Haider. He however was freed on bail in August of that year.

RAB also said Farabi was among those who commented under the Twitter post of a group named "Ansar Bangla-7" that rejoiced the murder of Avijit.

Later in the day, RAB handed Farabi over to the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) who are investigating the murder.
Link


Africa North
Tunisia Ups Security as Salafists Vow to Defy Ban
2013-05-19
[Naharnet] Tunisian security forces deployed in strength on Saturday after Salafist movement Ansar al-Sharia
...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends...
 called on its hardline Islamist supporters to defy a government ban on its annual congress.

There was a heavy police presence at tollbooths along the main highway from the capital to the central city of Kairouan where the Salafists
...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
 have vowed to hold Sunday's gathering, Agence La Belle France Presse correspondents reported.

Police were singling out for checks the private minibuses that ply between Tunisian towns, with special attention paid to men with beards, as sported by Salafists.

Inside the city, helicopters hovered overhead and police checkpoints were set up, while special units were deployed in the square facing the mosque which is the venue for the congress.

A local police officer, declining to be named, said: "We have taken all measures to ensure the meeting does not go ahead... We will not allow those coming for this congress to enter the city."

Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Livia had made her point with her knee to Jane's stomach...
 maps were posted on Facebook pages close to the Salafist movement locating the checkpoints and possible routes to avoid them.

Ansar al-Sharia had urged its supporters to travel to the venue in groups in a bid to get past police.

"We advise our brothers coming to Kairouan to travel in groups and not to be separated because the agents of the tyrant are blocking most intersections and provoking our brothers by showing their weapons," it said on its Facebook page.

In Tunis, large numbers of police vans and army trucks were visible both in the city center and in neighborhoods regarded as Salafist strongholds.

As tensions mounted, a U.S. embassy travel advisory warned Americans against travelling to Kairouan, saying "large rallies and demonstrations are possible" if the congress goes ahead.

"There is the potential for disruption to traffic in the area of Kairouan and possible confrontations with security forces. The embassy recommends against all travel to Kairouan during this period."

The Salafists have been blamed for a wave of violence across Tunisia, including an attack on the U.S. embassy in September that left four assailants dead.

Ansar al-Sharia is considered the most radical of the bully boy groups that emerged after the 2011 revolution that ousted veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The group's runaway leader, Saif Allah Bin Hussein, a former al-Qaeda fighter in Afghanistan, warned last week he would wage war against the government led by moderate Islamist party Ennahda, accusing it of policies in breach of Islam.

The interior ministry on Friday said Ansar al-Sharia posed a threat to public order as it confirmed the ban on the planned congress.

"We have decided to prohibit this gathering, which would be in violation of the law and because of the threat it represents to public order," it announced.

Ahead of the ministry's announcement, Ansar al-Sharia, which does not recognize the authority of the state, warned that it would hold the government responsible for any violence.

"We are not asking permission from the government to preach the word of God and we warn against any police intervention to prevent the congress from taking place," front man Seifeddine Rais said.

Rais said more than 40,000 people were expected to attend.

The interior ministry retorted that "all those who defy the authority of the state and its institutions, who try to sow chaos, who incite violence and hatred will bear all the responsibility".

It promised a tough response to "anyone who tries to attack the forces of order" and said the police and army are on "high alert to protect the security of citizens and their property".

Salafist group Hizb ut Tahrir condemned the interior ministry ban but also appealed to Ansar al-Sharia to postpone the congress to avoid bloodshed.

"We say to Ansar al-Sharia that we consider it wise and a priority to announce the postponement of the congress, placing the whole responsibility for it on the government," the group said in a statement.

Otherwise, "Sunday will be a day of bloody confrontation."

The Salafists, who advocate an ultra-conservative brand of Sunni Islam, have been blamed for a spate of attacks on police in recent months.
Link


India-Pakistan
Hizbut Tahrir hoodwinks police to hold demo
2011-04-19
RAWALPINDI: Activists of banned Hizbut Tahrir
...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate...
 on Sunday managed to stage a demonstration in front of Liaquat Bagh at Benazir Bhutto Road by hoodwinking police.

The outfit announced to hold a protest at Landa Bazaar near Iqbal Road. As only a few activists reached Iqbal Road, they were easily dispersed by police. One of them, Mohammad Waqas, was tossed in the clink.

In the meantime, more than 100 Hizbut Tahrir activists gathered at Liaquat Bagh. Between the ages of 22 to 28 years, most of the young men were wearing trousers and shirts. They were holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans demanding Khilafaat in the country.

They blocked the road for half an hour, creating traffic jams at adjoining roads, including Liaquat Road, College Road, Tipu Road, and Iqbal Road. They rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud against the US and the government.

"We held a dummy demonstration to keep the police away," Imran Yousafzai, a front man for Hizbut Tahrir, told Dawn .
It's a "funny once". Next time they'll have to do it somewhere else.
He said as they tried to hold an exhibition in front of the Islamabad Press Club, police tossed in the clink Osama Hanif, Mohammad Naeem and Dr Tahir Banori. The three were released on bail on Saturday.

"We deceived police to save our workers from arrest."

Earlier addressing the gathering, Engineer Junaid Khan, a member of Hizb ut Tahrir, termed Khilafaat as the panacea of all problems faced by the people of Pakistain. He said the American and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
 forces were killing the innocent people in Pakistain.

He said the wave of change has spread throughout the Mohammedan world. "Under the current system, the rich are becoming richer and the poor only becoming poorer."

He said the West always backed the dictators and exploited the democratic leaders in countries like Pakistain. "People don`t want American and western Raj to continue in the country."

Later, the participants dispersed peacefully.
Link


Bangladesh
JMB man discloses attack details
2010-07-18
[Bangla Daily Star] Detained acting JMB chief Nazmul told interrogators that he and executed JMB military commander Ataur Rahman Sunny were there when JMB men stabbed eminent author Prof Humayun Azad in front of Bangla Academy in February, 2004.

Nazmul, who is also known as Bhagne Shahid and Anwar Alam, made the disclosure during remand at the Detective Branch of police office yesterday, a DB official told The Daily Star requesting not to be named.

Nazmul told interrogators that as Prof Azad cried for help he detonated a bomb to clear the way for their escape dispersing people coming forward to aid Azad.

Sunny had planned the attack and he had led the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh operatives who carried out the attack, he told investigators, adding that he had provided them with the knives.

Nazmul told interrogators that they had also issued several death threats over telephone to Azad to stop, what they claimed, his anti-Islamic writings and opinions. He said Azad did not pay heed to their warnings.

Asked about the information they received from Nazmul about the JMB operatives who took part in the attack, the DB official refused to give details for the sake of investigation.

However, another DB official said JMB operatives Minhaz and Shamim, who is also known as Sado, took part in the attack among others.

On February 27, 2004, they swooped on 56-year-old linguist Azad, a professor of Bangla at Dhaka University, as he was trying to catch a rickshaw to go home from the Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy, sources said.

Four to five youths, who were shadowing Azad, emerged from the direction of Suhrawardy Udyan and hemmed him, witnesses had told The Daily Star after the attack. As Prof Azad cried for help, a loud blast rocked the area and the attackers got away, they said.

Azad died from what an autopsy said was a heart attack in Munich on August 12 that year.

Azad was receiving threats from fundamentalists after his book "Pak Saar Jamin Saad Baad" was published in a national Bangla daily's Eid issue.

Meanwhile, a top DB official said they put acting JMB chief Nazmul, the banned outfit's North Bengal chief Shafiqul Islam alias Jamai Rafiq and former acting JMB chief Saidur Rahman face-to-face and interrogated them.

The official said they also put detained Jamaat leaders face-to-face with detained JMB leaders and interrogated them yesterday.

A DB official said Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Motiur Rahman Nizami and Delwar Hossain Sayedee claimed that they are not war criminals. They said they just supported Pakistan during the war and it was their political right to do so.

The detained JMB leaders used to keep regular contact with Jamaat leaders and some Jamaat leaders used to provide financial help to JMB operatives, claimed a DB source, adding that JMB high-ups were also trying to forge a unity with Jamaat.

Jamaat and Hizb-ut Tahrir also tried to keep contact with Detained JMB leaders, a DB source said quoting the JMB leaders.
Link


Bangladesh
Tahrir adviser tells of Jamaat link
2010-07-12
[Bangla Daily Star] Detained adviser of banned Hizb-ut Tahrir Bangladesh Prof Syed Golam Maola yesterday told interrogators that their link with Jamaat-e-Islami was established when the immediate past caretaker government approved the National Women Development Policy in 2008.

Speaking anonymously, a top detective claimed the connection between Jamaat and Tahrir was strengthened after the ruling Awami League assumed power.

Quoting Maola, the interrogator from Detective Branch said Jamaat Publicity Secretary Tasneem Alam coordinated their first meeting in 2008 to discuss a joint campaign against the National Women Development Policy.

He added that the most recent meeting was coordinated by Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Kamaruzzaman.

"At that meeting they discussed how to work jointly against the government as it has put both the sides in trouble," said the detective.

The interrogator went on to say that Hizb-ut Tahrir leaders also directed their followers to continue their activities keeping a close relation with Jamaat.

Four Hizb-ut members who were arrested in Kalabagan in the capital on July 9 also made similar statements.

"We brought the four face to face with Maola and quizzed them about their connection with Jamaat. They admitted that their leaders had recently instructed them to work keeping a close contact with Jamaat," the DB official claimed.

The four workers who studied in Chittagong also admitted to being involved with pro-Jamaat student organisation Islami Chhatra Shibir. They said they used to attend Shibir processions.

One of the four detained Hizb-ut-Tahrir workers is Sheikh Omar Sharif who joined the judicial service as a magistrate in 2008 but resigned in August last year, the DB official added.

The other three are Sheikh Nasir Uddin Majumder, Rakib Uddin Ahmed, an IT specialist, and Noor Mohammad.

Contacted, Tasneem Alam said he has no connection with Hizb-ut Tahrir. "I have never seen Golam Maola except on TV after his arrest," he told The Daily Star.

He also denied Jamaat's connection with Hizb-ut Tahrir, saying no question should arise about providing fund to the organisation by Jamaat.

Asked about the four detained Tahrir activists' involvement with Shibir, he said he does not know anything about that.

The DB official said Golam Maola has the realisation that the organisation should face the government ban through legal process instead of its current protest movement.
Link


Bangladesh
Tahrir adviser Prof Maola arrested
2010-07-09
[Bangla Daily Star] Detectives arrested Prof Syed Golam Maola, who introduced the banned Islamist outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir in the country, from the capital's Elephant Road area yesterday.

A team hauled Maola, a professor of the department of Management Studies of Dhaka University, while he was returning to his residence at Dhanmondi in a private car around 2:30pm.

Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch (DB) Mahbubor Rahman said, "Maola, an adviser of Hizb ut-Tahrir, was playing a pivotal role in the functioning of the banned outfit since Tahrir chief coordinator Mohiuddin Ahmed was arrested on April 20."

Maola is accused in three cases filed with Uttara Police Station under Anti-Terrorism Act, he said.

Another DB official wishing anonymity said they recently found that a nexus between Jamaat-e-Islami and Tahrir developed to foil the trial of war criminals of 1971.

Contacted, Jamaat's publicity secretary Tasnim Ahmed said there is no question of connection between their party and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh had been launching open campaign for last few years calling people to establish its self-styled Khilafat rule.

However, the government imposed a ban on Hizb-ut Tahrir on October 22 last year for its anti-state and anti-democratic activities.
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