Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Bangladesh

Bangla Bhai’s deputy Khamaru arrested again

2016-09-27

[Dhaka Tribune] Executed JMB leader Bangla Bhai's second-in-command Mahtab Khamaru, who was blessed by top BNP leader Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... a decade ago, have been placed in durance vile Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! again, for the fourth time since 2005 Khamaru was arrested from Hamirkutsa area of Baghmara Upazila around 11:30am Monday allegedly for regrouping the organization. He hails from Talghoria village of Hamirkutsa Union. He was shown arrested in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act and produced before a district court, Baghmara OC Selim Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune’s Abdullah Al Dulal. "The court has sent him to jail. We will seek his remand later." Khamaru is accused in several cases filed with Baghmara police for murder, torture, abduction and extortion in the area in 2004. From March 31 to May 24 that year, Shayakh Abdur Rahman’s JMB and its associate organization Jagrata Moslem Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) ‐ under the leadership of Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai ‐ carried out series of attacks on members of the Awami League and outlawed leftist groups with the blessings of the then BNP-Jamaat government. At least 24 people were killed and several hundreds injured in the attacks conducted in broad daylight. Acting as a regional commander of the JMB, Khamaru even took part in an armed procession of the outfit in Rajshahi town in 2004. "Police are investigating one of those cases while the others are under trial," the OC said. After the two outfits were banned on February 23, 2005, RAB arrested Khamaru on November 27. But he was released soon after then prime minister the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... ’s son Tarique phoned state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar for his release, according to a US embassy cable released by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. Tarique was acting at the behest of then state minister for land Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu, the cable says. Several other ministers and local politicians supported Bangla Bhai at that time. JMB leader Khamaru was later arrested twice ‐ on March 9, 2007 and July 23, 2012, but managed to come out of jail on bail. In 2012, he was shown arrested in a case filed for abduction and torture of one Amir Ali of Baghmara in 2004. He went into hiding after getting bail.

Link

Bangladesh

It's a plot to kill Nizami Says Jamaat

2014-01-31

[Bangla Daily Star] Aghast at the verdict in the 10-truck arms haul cases, the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... yesterday said the judgement is part of the "government's conspiracy to eliminate patriotic politicians from the country." The BNP said it will give a reaction on the verdict later, while the ruling Awami League expressed satisfaction over the judgement. Rejecting the verdict, Jamaat acting ameer Maqbul Ahmed in a statement said party Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami ...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them... was handed death penalty in "staged managed and false cases as part of the government's plan to kill him." The Jamaat, a key ally of the BNP, vowed to counter the government's conspiracy legally and politically. Talking to The Daily Star, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said he will later give the party's reaction on the verdict after having consultations with BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... . Now in Thakurgaon, Fakhrul refused to make any immediate comment on the judgement. BNP LEADERS REACT Talking to The Daily Star, BNP Vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman said it was their government that had hauled the arms cache, filed cases and placed in durance vile Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! many people in connection with the incident. "But the present government has used the cases to harass our leaders and the verdict has been delivered accordingly," he mentioned. BNP chairperson's adviser Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government has "politicised" everything, including the judiciary. "Therefore, people have little confidence in the judgment in these sensitive cases," he added. REACTION OF AL With the verdict in the 10-truck arms haul case, rule of law has been established in the country, Law Minister Anisul Huq said yesterday. "After this, one will dread to commit a similar crime in future," he told news hounds at his secretariat office after a Chittagong court pronounced the verdict in the sensational cases. The special court handed death penalties to 14 people, including Jamaat chief and former industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami and ex-state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, for smuggling firearms. The verdict, said Anisul, reflects the government's pledge to uphold rule of law in the country. Asked whether the previous BNP-Jamaat government deserves credit for the arms haul during its tenure, he said the crime was committed by the top level officials of the then government. "The weapons were enough to set up a mini cantonment," he mentioned. Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said the verdict has proved that law takes its own course and crime ultimately brings its punishment. "It's a message to international arms syndicates that Bangladesh is not a place to smuggle arms through," she told The Daily Star at her secretariat office. Asked whether the verdict will boost Bangladesh's ties with India further, the minister said the government has done its job. On handing death penalty to 14 accused by the court, Matia, also Awami League presidium member, said the judge has delivered the judgement considering the merit of the cases. The government, she added, did not interference in the court's verdict. The convicts will have the right to appeal against the sentencing in the higher court. BNP-JAMAAT STAGE PROTESTS BNP and Jamaat activists brought out processions in Rajshahi and Netrakona yesterday to protest the verdict in the 10-truck arms haul cases, report our correspondents. In Rajshahi, two photojournalists and three pedestrians received splinter injuries when activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... blasted a cocktail from a procession. BNP of Madan upazila in Netrakona brought out a procession protesting the death penalty to Lutfozzaman Babar. The former state minister for home is from the upazila. Local BNP unit also called a 48-hour hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... in the upazila from this morning protesting the judgement.

Link

Bangladesh

BNP-led govt engaged security agencies to support separatist outfit in India

2014-01-30

[Bangla Daily Star] Though entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring country's security, brass hats of two security agencies, along with the then state minister for home and a civil servant, used their influence to supply weapons to an Indian separatist outfit in 2004. Law enforcers had seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition on April 2 that year at the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL). The consignment was being loaded on trucks. Top officials of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) were involved in smuggling weapons for the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), a separatist group fighting for a sovereign Assam, according to confessional statements of the accused in the 10-truck arms haul cases. The officials allegedly rented a house in the capital for the most-wanted Ulfa military commander Paresh Barua and gave him protection to operate his outfit from inside Bangladesh during the BNP-Jamaat rule. They met frequently in Dhaka. Just two days before the arms haul, the then director (security) of NSI wing commander Shahabuddin Ahmed and DGFI director (Counter Intelligence Bureau) Brig Gen Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury held a meeting with Barua at the Combined Military Hospital to discuss the arrival of weapons and its off-loading. Shahabuddin was under treatment at the hospital. On April 1, 2004, NSI field officer Md Akbar Hossain went to Chittagong and hired trucks for carrying arms on instructions of Shahabuddin. Former NSI deputy director (technical) Maj Liakat Hossain was also in the port city to oversee the off-loading of arms and ensure security. Upon instructions of former director general of NSI Brig Gen Abdur Rahim, Liakat was present during the off-loading of the arms consignment. He took the pseudo-name Abul Hossain and was locked into a debate with police sergeant Alauddin over the nature of goods and its clearance, according to Liakat's statement before a magistrate. Rahim kept close contact with those who were supervising the off-loading of the consignment. Liakat called him over the phone and sought his help when cops obstructed the off-loading. Lutfozzaman Babar, who was running the home ministry, allegedly played a key role facilitating the off-loading and smuggling of the arms. When the smuggling was exposed, Babar tried to cover up the culprits by forming a probe committee that included Rezzakul Haider. Babar ignored resistance by the then DGFI DG Sadiq Hasan Rumi, who believed Haider had a role and wanted that another official replace Haider in the probe body. The committee led by former home secretary Omar Faruk found the involvement of some NSI officials in the incident. But when he wanted to mention this in the probe report, Babar asked him not to disclose the fact. Besides, two whistle-blower coppers Alauddin and Helaluddin were implicated in a false arms case, placed in durance vile Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! and tortured by the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in 2005. Alauddin, a key witness in the arms haul cases, later came to know that all these were done on instructions of Babar. The involvement of former additional secretary of the industries ministry Md Nurul Amin, who is now absconding, became clear after further investigation. He was at the CUFL guest house when the arms consignment was being off-loaded. Assistant security official of CUFL Mobin Hossain Khan in his testimony said he along with CUFL managing director Mohsin Uddin Talukder had received Nurul Amin at Chittagong Railway Station on the night of the arms haul. Several top CUFL officials, including its MD and general manager (admin) KM Enamul Haq, were also allegedly involved in the incident. Both were aware of the off-loading of arms at the jetty, but did not take any action. They even did not visit the scene or the factory the following day when the entire nation was stunned by the recovery of the largest-ever arms cache. Neither did they take any administrative action against the on-duty security staff. Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... Ameer and the then industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami ...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them... played a dubious role over using the CUFL jetty for off-loading arms and investigating the incident.

Link

Bangladesh

Mufti Hannan revealed Hawa Bhaban plot

2013-02-04

[Bangla Daily Star] HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. leader Mufti Abdul Hannan in his 2011 confessional statement named some intelligence and political bigwigs, including Khaleda Zia's Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... son Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... , as criminal masterminds of the August 21 grenade assault launched to assassinate Sheikh Hasina. ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide... AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan, the then additional chief metropolitan magistrate who had recorded the statement, told a Dhaka court about its content yesterday. Hannan, chief of banned hard boy outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI), was in the dock while Habibur, now an additional Dhaka judge, was giving his testimony on recording the confessional statement. The Daily Star has obtained a copy of Hannan's statement. The HuJI leader had also narrated some conspiratorial meetings to assassinate Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader. He was present at the meeting along with some influential leaders and ministers of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , HuJI leaders and top intelligence officials. Tarique, then senior joint secretary general of BNP, assigned two party leaders -- state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu -- to provide all out assistance to the HuJI men to carry out the attack. Tarique, elder son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is now the party's senior vice chairman. "Before the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, I along with several other HuJI leaders went to Hawa Bhaban," Hannan said in the statement. Hawa Bhaban was the political office of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. There, the hard boy leader said, he found Tarique, Abul Harris Chowdhury, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, Abdus Salam Pintu, BNP politician Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed. Brigadier General Abdur Rahim, then director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI), and Brigadier General Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, then director general of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), were also present. "I informed them about the plan of grenade attack on Awami League rally, which was to be addressed by Sheikh Hasina, and sought their assistance." Tarique then assured them of full support and told them to communicate with Babar and Pintu for administrative assistance, the statement read. Hannan began his statement saying that AL was defeated in 2001 general election and BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami formed the government. His organization tried to strengthen its relation with BNP. HuJI ameer Moulana Abdus Salam, Sheikh Farid, Moulana Yahiya, Abu Bakar and Jahangir Badar contacted BNP politicians Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Kaikobad. The two leaders arranged High Court bails for 41 HuJI men tossed in the clink Please don't kill me! in Dhankhali in 1996. Hannan said the HuJI's communication with the BNP leaders continued and the outfit kept receiving assistance from them. Towards the end of 2003, Abdus Salam Farid, Moulana Tajuddin, brother of BVNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, met Babar at his government residence on Bailey Road in the capital. There GK Gaus, Ariful Islam, former DCC ward councillor; Yahiya and Abu Bakar, were also present there. Babar told Gaus and Arif about the task of Sylhet and ordered them to do the work locally. In Sylhet, local BNP men and HuJI men went kaboom! grenades. At the court yesterday, Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan said around 3:00pm on April 7 of 2011 jail police produced Mufti Hannan at his chamber for recording confessional statement. Hannan was given three hours to make up his mind. Judge Shahed Nuruddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 recorded Habibur's statement for half an hour yesterday. Later, barrister Fakhrul Islam, a counsel for Mufti Hannan, cross-examined him. The defence will again cross-examine Habibur today as the court adjourned the trial proceedings for yesterday. Syed Rezaur Rahman, chief counsel for the August 21 grenade attack cases, stood for the state. The August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally killed Ivy Rahman, wife of President Zillur Rahman, along with 23 others and maimed over 300 people. Sheikh Hasina, now prime minister, narrowly escaped death and suffered ear injuries.

Link

Bangladesh

Babar asked cops to drop NSI issue

2012-07-04

[Bangla Daily Star] Former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar had ordered the CID to submit the charge sheets in the 10-truck arms haul cases without implicating NSI officials, ex-DIG of CID Farrukh Ahmad told a Chittagong court yesterday. "According to the order of Lutfozzaman Babar and with consent from former home secretary Omar Faruq, the charge sheets were submitted without disclosing the involvement of NSI officials in the smuggling of arms and ammunition," Farrukh said in his deposition as a prosecution witness in two cases in this connection. Farrukh also implicated several former National Security Intelligence (NSI) officials including its former director general Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim, deputy director Major (retd) Liakat Hossain and field officer Akbar Hossain and former director of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Brig Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury in the offence. Law enforcers seized 10 truckloads of arms and explosive at the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited in the wee hours of April 2 in 2004. The following day, a five-member enquiry committee was formed led by Omar Faruq, said the former deputy inspector general (DIG) of Criminal investigation Department (CID) adding, he was made one of the members of the committee. The committee members arrived in Chittagong on April 5 to start the investigation and left for Dhaka on April 8. A few days later, CID (Chittagong) ASP Kabir, who was the investigation officer (IO) of the cases, had informed Farrukh that he found the involvement of NSI field officer Akbar Hossain and a smuggler Hafizur Rahman in hiring the 10 trucks for transporting the arms and ammunition. Farrukh had ordered Kabir to interrogate the two, but Kabir failed to grill them as Hafizur remained absconding and the Chittagong office of NSI did not cooperate with the IO for producing its field officer before the CID. The ex-DIG of CID told Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 that when he informed state minister Babar about NSI's non-cooperation with the CID, the latter said, "There are many things where national interests are involved. So we have to work meticulously." "Giving reference to a previous arms haul, Babar told me that a trawler loaded with arms was seized in Cox's Bazar in 1996, but no case was filed then," said Farrukh.

Link

Bangladesh

Tarique promised attackers safe exit

2012-05-28

[Bangla Daily Star] BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... assured HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and his associates that he would arrange a safe passage out of the scene once they carried out the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in 2004, a witness told a Dhaka court yesterday. Abu Hena Md Yusuf, inspector of Criminal Investigation Department, said this in his deposition to the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 as a prosecution witness in the August 21 grenade attack cases. He claimed that Hannan, while on remand in Ramna Batamul blast cases, told him about Tarique's assurance. After recording Abu Hena's deposition, Judge Shahed Nuruddin fixed June 3 for the next hearing. Defence lawyers will cross-examine the witness on that day. Twenty-four AL leaders and workers, including Ivy Rahman, were killed and 300 others were maimed in the grenade attack on the AL rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on August 21, 2004. The attack was aimed at assassinating AL President Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide... , then leader of the opposition. Hasina narrowly escaped death. Two cases -- one under the explosive substances act and the other for murder -- were filed after the incident. Abu Hena told the court that he had earlier investigated the Ramna Batamul blast cases and submitted charge sheets against HuJI chief Hannan and 13 others on November 29, 2008. During investigation of the Ramna Batamul blast cases in 2005, Abu Hena interrogated Hannan about the grenade and kabooms that took place at different places in the country. Hannan admitted that he along with his accomplices in 2000 had planted a 76-kg bomb at Kotalipara where Hasina was to address a rally. They also carried out attacks on Hazrat Shahjalal's shrine in Sylhet, the then Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Badaruddin Kamran, AL leader Suranjit Sengupta and former British High Commissioner Anwar Hossain Choudhury. The HuJI chief told the CID official that he along with Moulana Tajuddin, brother of former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, held a meeting at Pintu's Dhanmondi residence to plot the August 21 grenade attack. Hannan told his accomplices that during a meeting at Hawa Bhaban, Tarique assured him that all the attackers would be provided safe passage out of the scene after the attack, and that Tarique communicated the matter to the then state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar. On assurance from Tarique, elder son of the then prime minister Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... , Hannan collected grenades from Tajuddin and gave those to his accomplices to stage the attack. The CID official recorded Hannan's statements in writing during the investigation. Abu Hena submitted the written statement to his superiors -- the then additional Inspector General of Police Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, CID Special Superintendent of Police Ruhul Amin and ASP Munshi Atiqur Rahman. He also told them that Hannan would make a confessional statement before a Dhaka court. The high-ups got upset with the CID official, as he included information on the August 21 grenade attack in his written statement. They directed him to drop the information and record a confessional statement only on the Ramna blasts. The CID official complied with the instructions of his superiors. Hannan later made a confessional statement to the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court but he did not mention anything about the August 21 grenade attack, Hena said. Of the 52 accused in the grenade attack cases, Babar, Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and 24 others, who are now in jug, were produced before the court yesterday. Seven other accused, including former Dhaka City Corporation ward councillor Ariful Islam Arif, now out on bail, were present at the court. Tarique and 18 other accused have been shown absconding in the cases. The CID on July 3, 2011, included Abu Hena as a prosecution witness in the charge sheets of the cases since he was present at the AL rally during the grenade attack.

Link

Bangladesh

Mojaheed denied bail

2012-04-26

[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court yesterday refused Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed bail in the August 21 grenade attack cases. Judge Shahed Nuruddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 passed the order after a lengthy hearing on the bail petitions filed by the Jamaat secretary general on April 9. Earlier in the day, counsels of six accused in the cases cross-examined Sharif Faruq Ahmed, the then sub-inspector of Motijheel Police Station, who had filed the cases. The court fixed April 30 for the next hearing of the cases. Twenty-four people, including Awami League leader Ivy Rahman, were killed and around 200 others injured in the grisly grenade attack on an AL rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004. The then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly beat feet the attack. Seven accused, including three former inspectors general of police, who were earlier granted bail by different courts, appeared in the court yesterday while 26 others, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and Mojaheed, now in jail custody, were produced. BNP Senior Vice-chairman Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... and 18 others have been absconding since the cases were filed. Syed Rezaur Rahman appeared for the state while TM Akbar, Abdullah Mahmud Hassan and Mahboob Ahmed defended the accused.

Link

Bangladesh

Tarique, Babar indicted

2012-03-19

[Bangla Daily Star]The trial of the much-talked-about August 21 grenade attack case is set to begin on March 28, as a Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against 30 accused in the supplementary charge sheet of the killing case. The newly indicted include former prime minister Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... 's elder son Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... , her nephew Saiful Islam Duke, the then state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, four other BNP leaders and a Jamaat leader. Among others, three are former IGPs, two ex-NSI officials, three former CID officials, two ex-senior police officials, and three former high-ranking officials of the army and the navy. The 13 high-ups were in service when the grenade attack was made on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on August 21, 2004. Twenty-four AL leaders and workers were killed and 300 others were maimed in the attack. The gruesome attack was aimed at assassinating Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, then leader of the opposition.

Link

Bangladesh

Hannan submitted no legal petition

2011-09-29

[Bangla Daily Star] A petition filed by jugged Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. chief Mufti Abdul Hannan for withdrawing his additional confessional statement in the August 21 grenade attack case is not valid or cognisable. The media, over the last two days, reported that Hannan filed the petition with a Dhaka court on Tuesday for withdrawal of the statement given on April 7 this year. But The Daily Star found that proper legal procedure that a jugged individual is supposed to follow for filing such a petition was not adhered to. Judge Shahed Nooruddin of Speedy Trial Tribunal-1of Dhaka on Tuesday told Hannan's lawyer immediately after the submission that there was no legal basis for the petition since proper procedure had not been followed. The judge however asked the bench assistant of the court to keep the papers in the case file. Tuesday was fixed for charge framing hearing in the case, but the court deferred the hearing date. After completion of the court proceedings when the judge was about to leave the courtroom, Hannan's lawyer Lutfor Rahman Sheikh placed some papers before the judge. Among the papers, nine pages gave a description of torture on Hannan during his remand and prayed for withdrawal of his additional statement where he had implicated BNP leaders Tarique Rahman, Lutfozzaman Babar, and Harris Chowdhury, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, and others in the grenade attack with the aim of killing Sheikh Hasina. At the end of the nine-page application, the name of Hannan was hand written. But there was no other required signature of the authorities of the jail or the court. Another paper that was submitted along with the nine pages was not signed by Advocate Lutfor but his name was written at the bottom of the paper where he mentioned in a line that Hannan wants to withdraw his additional confessional statement. Some legal experts said any jugged accused must take permission from the jail authorities or the court before submitting any petition in connection with a case. Advocate Syed Rezaur Rahman, chief prosecutor in the case, told The Daily Star that if any jugged accused wants to submit any petition, he or she must submit it through the jail authorities. But Hannan's petition was submitted on his behalf without any authorisation from the jail authorities, he added. He said Hannan could seek permission from the tribunal for submission of the petition, but he did not do that either. So the petition has no legal basis, he said. Hannan's counsel Lutfor Rahman Sheikh however said his client filed the petition properly. But, he did not give any satisfactory answer to the question about whether Hannan signed the petition. Court sources confirmed yesterday that no legal procedure was followed in submitting the petition. Hannan first gave a confessional statement on November 1, 2007 disclosing HuJI's involvement in the grisly grenade attack on August 21, 2004 on an Awami League rally. In 2008, during the caretaker rule, the Criminal Investigation Department submitted a charge sheet accusing 21 HuJI men including Hannan, and also a BNP leader. But the investigation was not completed as the Sherlocks could not find the source of the grenades. Following prosecution's prayer, a Dhaka court gave an order for further investigation in 2009. During that further investigation, in April this year Hannan gave the additional confessional statement, after which the CID submitted a supplementary charge sheet accusing 30 others including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... 's son Tarique, Who appears to have inherited at least some of his mother's special talents... BNP's former state minister for home Babar, Khaleda's former political secretary Harris, Jammat leader Mojaheed, and some former top police and intelligence officials. Although the unsigned papers submitted by Lutfor on Tuesday claimed that Hannan had to give the confessional statements under tremendous torture and pressure, the papers only sought to withdraw Hannan's additional statement where Tarique and other BNP leaders were implicated in the crime. The defence did not seek withdrawal of Hannan's first confessional statement.

Link

Bangladesh

Ulfa chief shot at in Myanmar

2011-09-11

[Bangla Daily Star] Paresh Barua, commander-in-chief of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), has been shot at in the jungles of northwest Myanmar, reports Indian television channel NDTV yesterday. The runaway Ulfa leader is wanted by a Bangladesh court for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of 10 truckloads of arms in 2004. Sources said Barua has been injured but has survived the attack by the Myanmarese soldiers. He was with some rebels when he was detected and fired upon, they added. The Assamese separatist group Ulfa recently began face-to-face unconditional talks with the Indian government in an attempt to usher in peace in insurgency-hit Assam. Its delegation met the home minister in New Delhi in February. The meeting was significant as it took place for the first time in Ulfa's 31-year history. Its commander-in-chief and lone ranger Paresh Barua, however, was not present in the meeting. He is still on the lam issuing threats and carrying out attacks. He wants illusory sovereignty as a pre-condition for talks. The three decades of armed movement has witnessed the killing of several thousand civilians. The Ulfa, in a significant development earlier this year, admitted that all killings were wrong and declared that they were ready for formal unconditional talks with the government. ARMS SMUGGLING In Chittagong, a court on September 7 ordered the authorities concerned to publish an advertisement in two national dailies, asking Paresh Barua and another runaway, Nurul Amin, to appear before it by October 3. The court on June 29 issued an arrest warrant for Paresh Barua. Barua is among the 11 newly charge-sheeted accused in two cases filed in connection with the 10-truck arms haul in Chittagong in 2004. The 11 included former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami ...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them... The arms produced in Chinese factory Norinco were to be transported to India for the Ulfa, Muniruzzaman Chowdhury, investigation officer of the two cases, told news hounds after submitting two supplementary charge sheets before the court on June 26. Two cases were filed--one for smuggling firearms and the other under the arms act--a day after 10 truckloads of arms and ammunition were seized at a jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Ltd (CUFL) in the port city on April 2, 2004.resignation.

Link

Bangladesh

Nizami denied bail in 10-truck arms case

2011-09-08

[Bangla Daily Star] A Chittagong court on Wednesday rejected the bail prayers of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami ...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them... and two other charge-sheeted accused in two cases relating to 10-truck arms haul in 2004. Judge SM Muzibur Rahman of Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 passed the order after the defence lawyers submitted separate petitions to the court seeking bail for the three accused. The two other accused are: Enamul Hoque, former general manager (admin) of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL), and Deen Mohammad. All of the eleven set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock accused, including Nizami and state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, were produced before the tribunal at 11:45am Wednesday. The court fixed October 3 as the next date for hearing, reports our Chittagong correspondent. It also asked the authorities concerned to publish an advertisement in two national dailies the two runaway accused -- Ulfa leader Paresh Barua and former additional secretary of industries ministry Nurul Amin -- to appear before it on October 3 in connection with the cases. The two cases were filed -- one for smuggling firearms and the other under the arms act -- a day after ten truckloads of arms and ammunitions were seized at a CUFL jetty in the port city on April 2, 2004. Earlier on August 8, another court in Chittagong rejected bail prayer of former state minister for Babar in the two cases.

Link

Bangladesh

Tarique okayed Huji plot

2011-08-22

[Bangla Daily Star] HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. leaders met Tarique Rahman a few days before the August 21 grenade attack in 2004 and got the go-ahead to stage the blasts. Lutfozzaman Babar, then state minister for home, Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to then prime minister Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... , Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, then NSI director general Brig Gen Abdur Rahim and DGFI director Brig Gen Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury were present at that meeting, held at Hawa Bhaban in the capital's Banani. The attack was the outcome of collaboration between HuJI, influential leaders of BNP and Jamaat, and some officials of the home ministry, police, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Prime Minister's Office (PMO). This is what Sherlocks have found in further probe and described in the supplementary charge sheet in the August 21 murder case. The Daily Star has lately obtained a copy of the charge sheet submitted in July. The August 21 blasts at an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue killed 24 leaders and workers including Ivy Rahman, wife of now President Zillur Rahman, and injured 300 others including Sheikh Hasina, now prime minister. According to the charges, leaders of banned Death Eater group Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) had two meetings with Tarique, elder son of Khaleda and the then senior joint secretary general of BNP. Both were held at Hawa Bhaban, widely considered the alternative centre of power during the last BNP-Jamaat coalition rule. At the first meeting, in early 2004, HuJI leaders sought support in executing their plans to assassinate Sheikh Hasina and other top AL leaders. BNP politician Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad had helped arrange the meeting. Tarique assured the HuJI men of all-out support. At the second meeting, which took place in mid-August, he reiterated his assurance to HuJI boss Mufti Hannan and his associates. For the second meeting, HuJI leaders Mufti Hannan, Moulana Abu Taher, Moulana Sheikh Farid and Moulana Tajuddin went to Hawa Bhaban on a microbus of Al Markazul Islam, a non-government organization. Moulana Abdur Rashid of Al Markazul was with them, but he was left waiting on the ground floor when they went upstairs to meet Tarique. On August 18, three days before the attack, the HuJI leaders met Babar at the residence of former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu. Owner of Hanif transport Mohammad Hanif and BNP ward commissioner Ariful Islam Arif were present at the meeting. Babar and Pintu assured the Death Eater leaders that Hanif and Arif would help them in every way and that "they would receive all administrative assistance." The Arges grenades used in the attack were smuggled in from Pakistain. Tajuddin, Salam Pintu's brother, had supplied the grenades, which were taken to Mufti Hannan's Badda office from Pintu's Dhanmondi residence on August 20. The first charge sheet in the August 21 case was placed in 2008 against 22 people including Salam Pintu and 21 HuJI leaders and workers. The supplementary charge sheet was submitted on July 3, accusing 30 more people including Tarique, Babar, Harris and Mojaheed. It says some police officials deliberately did not take necessary security measures so that the perpetrators had no difficulty staging the blasts and fleeing the scene. The then Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Ashraful Huda, who later went on to become the Inspector General of Police, went abroad on the day of the attack without ordering adequate security arrangements for the AL rally. On his return, he did not take any punitive steps against the law enforcers who were negligent in their duties on the rally venue. The then IGP Shahudul Haque purposely did not update himself with the security measures taken on the rally venue. He did not even visit the scene after the attack, though it was only around 500 yards from his office. He also did not issue any directives to identify or arrest the perpetrators. Tajuddin, supplier of the grenades, left the country for Pakistain on instructions from Babar. Khaleda Zia was aware of this, continues the charge sheet. Tajuddin was given a fake passport with the name "Badal". Saiful Islam Duke, Khaleda's nephew and also private secretary, Duke's brother-in-law and DGFI official Lt Col Saiful Islam Joarder, and another top DGFI official Major Gen (rtd) ATM Amin had helped him flee the country on October 10, 2006.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More