Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said that BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who is convicted in multiple cases, is living in the UK on “political asylum” and that signing of an extradition treaty with London is under process.
An extradition treaty allows countries to bring back fugitives from justice.
The issue was discussed at the fifth strategic dialogue between Dhaka and London on Tuesday.
“He is in political asylum,” the foreign secretary said, when asked.
“We have discussed the legal mechanisms that we have with the UK. We also discussed mutual legal assistance and extradition treaty,” he said. “They are also considering it (extradition treaty). It’s under process. It does not come at the signing stage now. It’s under process at different stages.”
Tarique, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was allowed to leave for London after signing a conduct bond on being arrested for graft by an Army-backed caretaker government in 2008.
He has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the August 21, 2004, grenade attack cases. He was also sentenced to nine years' imprisonment in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 2007. He was also sentenced in two other cases, including the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, filed during the caretaker government.
Foreign Secretary Momen and his UK counterpart Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Philip Barton reviewed the entire gamut of historic relations between the two Commonwealth Nations, including political, economic, security and defence, migration and mobility, climate and development partnerships, during the dialogue.
The foreign ministry in a statement on Wednesday said the two sides also discussed mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.