Since my appointment as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada in August 2020, friendly bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Canada have not only endured but have strengthened and deepened across all areas of bilateral cooperation. During this period, our bilateral trade volume has reached its all-time high with Bangladesh’s export to Canada of $2.02 billion. Mobility of people has also significantly increased; thanks to the operation of the direct Dhaka-Toronto Biman Bangladesh flight in July 2022.
A personal resolve
However, the only impediment standing in the way of further strengthening and expanding bilateral relations is Canada's continued refusal to even engage in meaningful dialogue/discussions on the issue of deporting the heinous killer Noor Chowdhury, one of the main assassins of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to Bangladesh and ensure justice.
This is the killer who along with his accomplices brutally killed Bangabandhu and 21 of his family members, including pregnant women, and children on the dark night of August 15, 1975. In less than three months, assassin Noor Chowdhury and his killer gang also killed four national leaders inside prison on November 3, 1975.
Deportation of this heinous killer remains the most important task for me as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada. Upon assuming my role as High Commissioner in this country, I resolved to employ all necessary diplomatic tools for the deportation of the killer Noor Chowdhury.
A mainstream ‘Canadian story’
My discussions at various levels have revealed a concerning lack of awareness among 99% of Canadian policymakers and the general public as a whole regarding the continued sheltering of this killer in Canada for the past 28 years. To address this, I felt that it was my primary responsibility to inform the general public and policymakers of Canada about this issue so that they could exert the required pressure on their government to deport this heinous killer to Bangladesh. So, I angled my advocacy as a "Canadian story" through Canada's mainstream media to highlight this issue to Canadian policymakers and the public, and accordingly, I focused my attention and made efforts to convince mainstream Canadian media to make their own story about this heinous killer.
I was able to convince CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) that the Canadian government was damaging the country's image and national interests by not deporting this killer. CBC came to realize the importance of the issue from the Canadian perspective and made a preliminary investigation into the matter to make the documentary. In May 2022, they produced and aired this investigative documentary on the heinous killer Noor Chowdhury. The documentary was produced by a team of CBC professionals, led by CBC journalist Mark Kelley, who spent more than a year researching on a non-partisan and professional basis. CBC also filmed the celebration of the 60th birthday of the child martyr Shaheed Sheikh Russel organized by the High Commission in Ottawa on October 18 last year to highlight that Noor Chowdhury also killed children on August 15, 1975. Finally, on November 17, 2023, CBC aired a 42-minute investigative documentary on its "The Fifth Estate" program.
Bogged down in diplomacy
As depicted in the CBC documentary, killer Noor Chowdhury’s deportation order was issued twice, first in 2004 and then again in 2006 by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). Unfortunately, the deportation process did not succeed due to the non-cooperation of the then BNP-Jamaat coalition government in power at that time. Even after this, subsequent opportunities for deportation arose, but nothing could be done due to bureaucratic hurdles as well as because of government official’s non-action for reasons best known to them.
Following the Awami League's assumption of power in 2009, the Canadian government assured that this killer would be deported following the completion of the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) process during a meeting between the then Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada in November 2009. Thereafter, for unknown reasons, the Canadian government has remained silent on this matter.
Following meetings between the two prime ministers in 2016 and 2018 in Canada, a working group was formed at the Director General level at the insistence of the Canadian side, although Bangladesh wanted to negotiate at the Justice Minister level. So far, only one meeting of the working group was held in 2018 where no decision was reached on the issue of the deportation of the assassin. In fact, that was the reason Bangladesh has always wanted to discuss the issue at the level of the Justice Minister, in order to reach an amicable and mutually agreeable solution.
Even when the Canadian Federal Court ordered the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to reveal Noor Chowdhury’s legal status in September 2019, it was again refused citing “ministerial discretion.” That means it has been the executive branch of the Canadian government that has been refusing to agree with Bangladesh’s repeated requests to engage in high-level dialogue between the two governments.
Any case for dispute?
When the CBC approached the Canadian Government, they also refused to talk to them. This proves that the solution to the issue of killer Noor Chowdhury's deportation is being delayed due to the reluctance of the Executive Branch of the Canadian government, not so much because of the provisions of their legal system as they try to pretend. They are reluctant to explore the options available even under the Canadian legal system.
It is worth noting that Canada has previously extradited similar types of criminals to the United States in the cases, “Reference Re Ng Extradition” and “Kindler v Canada” by exploring other options available in their judicial system. As mentioned by the International Criminal Law expert from Dalhousie University, Professor Robert J Currie in the CBC documentary, a ruling by the Canadian Supreme Court allows sending people to death under “exceptional circumstances.”
What could these “exceptional circumstances” be if not to deport a heinous killer who murdered a nation’s founding father, along with 25 others that includes pregnant women and children? The rights of this heinous killer cannot take precedence over the rights of the victims and their families. Even Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board termed the crime of this heinous killer as a “Crime Against Humanity.”
The CBC documentary also includes insights from Honourable Stockwell Day, Former Canadian Minister of Public Safety (2006-2008) who thinks the Canadian Government “should be moving aggressively on this to send that signal that Canada does not harbour people who commit these kinds of crimes.” He suggested that Canada should be “taking moral high ground by saying [Noor Chowdhury] is accountable for what he has done and [Canada] should negotiate with Bangladesh to see how [Canada] can get him out of here and put him back in the hands of the people of Bangladesh.”
Key witnesses testified against him, and the co-accused also gave statements about Noor Chowdhury’s direct involvement in the killings. In fact, the CBC documentary portrays the undeniable fact that he is the one who fired the fatal shot that killed the Father of the Nation.
A wider network and political intentions
Meanwhile, the killer Noor Chowdhury has been living a luxurious life in Toronto, Canada like any ordinary free citizen. In the past, some opportunistic officials of the Awami League residing in Canada have attempted to mislead our national leaders by falsely claiming that the killer Noor Chowdhury is in very poor health and that he is even on his deathbed. Many individuals have sought to exploit the situation in their own interest on various occasions. The CBC documentary has proven that this murderer is in good health, and it is imperative that all necessary measures be taken promptly to deport him to Bangladesh and execute his sentence without delay. It is hoped that the relevant authorities of the new government will take concerted actions to resolve this issue as soon as possible and once and for all.
One of the masterminds behind one of the biggest terrorist attacks in Holey Artisan Café in Dhaka, which resulted in the death of 29 people, including 17 foreigners in Dhaka on July 1, 2016 was a Canadian. We have information suggesting that Noor Chowdhury encouraged this individual with the hope that the government in Bangladesh led by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would be toppled, and the efforts by the government to deport him would subside. The High Commission has also received allegations that another Bangladeshi Canadian, who used to openly boast in Canada about his involvement in the August 21 grenade attack, was reportedly in contact with the killer. The Government of Canada should investigate these allegations to determine the extent of the killer Noor Chowdhury’s involvement with them.
Contrary to the hopes of the assassin Noor Chowdhury and others like him, the current government has been voted back to power by the people of Bangladesh. The new government needs to resolve to bring back the killer Noor Chowdhury from Canada and also other convicted killer Rashed Chowdhury as well as others who committed genocide in 1971 currently being protected by the US and the UK. Ironically, these are the three countries that boast of defending human rights. In these cases, they are defending the rights of the killers at the expense of the rights of the victims and their families.
A resolution overdue
When the Canadian High Commissioner called on the new Honourable Foreign Minister on January 29, 2024, he told her to work together through a bilateral process to ensure deportation of the heinous killer Noor Chowdhury. The Foreign Minister also suggested to the Canadian High Commissioner to consult with the law ministry on what way the Canadian authority can deport this heinous killer to Bangladesh at the earliest.
Bangladesh expects that these three friendly countries would cooperate to deport these killers Noor Chowdhury and Rashed Chowdhury and those accused of committing crime against humanity and genocide in 1971 to ensure justice and help Bangladesh establish the rule of law.
The broadcast of the CBC documentary has sparked significant response from the Canadian public and policymakers, including Members of Parliament and senators against the continued protection of killer Noor Chowdhury by Canada. Canadians have become aware for the first time that their government has been sheltering one of the most notorious murderers in the country for the past 28 years using taxpayers’ money.
Immediately following its release, we reached out to several Canadian ministers, influential senators, Members of Parliament and Premiers of the Provincial governments and requested them to make necessary advocacy and persuade the Canadian government to deport the killer Noor Chowdhury in the greater interest of Canada. They all appreciated the fact that by resolving this long-pending issue through mutual understanding and agreement, the excellent and friendly bilateral relations can be strengthened and expanded to elevate to a new height.
In closing, I am optimistic that through coordinated efforts of and necessary support from all relevant ministries and governmental agencies in Bangladesh, we will soon succeed in deporting this monstrous killer to Bangladesh.
Dr Khalilur Rahman, PhD, is the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
