Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin ( bn, চৌধুরী মঈনুদ্দীন; born 27 November 1948), is a war criminal convicted for the killing of Bengali intellectuals in collaboration with the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. After the liberation of Bangladesh, Chowdhury escaped from Bangladesh and took British citizenship. He has been a

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

absconding in the UK ever since. Chowdhury is a founder of the

Islamic Forum of Europe The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) is an Islamic organisation based in the United Kingdom with affiliates in Europe.trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

and former chairman of Muslim Aid, and a director of Muslim spiritual care provision in the United Kingdom's

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS). On 3 November 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), established by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, sentenced Mueen-Uddin,

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...

, to death for killing 9 teachers of Dhaka University, 6 journalists and 3 doctors in 1971. Mueen has remained in the United Kingdom since leaving Bangladesh shortly after its independence in 1971. Mueen-Uddin denies the charges. He has been accused of war crimes prior to the establishment of the ICT. In 1972, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported that he "has been identified as the head of a secret, commando-like organization of fanatic Moslems", In 1995, a documentary film made by David Bergman, entitled ''War Crimes File'' was aired on British television channel

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

producing comprehensive evidence of his involvement and active participation in the 1971 Bangladesh genocide.

Career

In 1971, Mueen-Uddin was a journalist at the ''Daily Purbodesh''. In 1972, ''

'' reported that he "has been identified as the head of a secret, commando-like organization of fanatic Moslems", in connection with the Bangladesh liberation war. He fled

shortly after its independence in 1971, and went to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

via

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

In the United Kingdom he was able to create a new life. He was a special editor of the London-based weekly ''Dawat'' and a leader of the London-based Jamaat organisation Dawatul Islam. Mueen-Uddin is a director of Muslim Spiritual Care Provision in the United Kingdom's

(NHS), a member of Multi Faith Group for Healthcare Chaplaincy (MFGHC), and a trustee of Muslim Aid. He is currently a citizen of the UK. Since moving to the UK in the early 1970s, Mueen-Uddin has taken British citizenship and built a career as a community activist and Muslim leader. In 1989 he was a key leader of protests against

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...

's novel, ''

The Satanic Verses ''The Satanic Verses'' is the fourth novel of British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism ...

''. Around the same time he helped to found the extremist

Islamic Forum of Europe The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) is an Islamic organisation based in the United Kingdom with affiliates in Europe.

War crimes trial

In 1995, a documentary film ''War Crimes File'' by David Bergman was aired on British television channel

about the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. In the film, Mueen-Uddin was accused of being a member of the pro-Pakistan paramilitary force

Al-Badr Al Badr is a village in Mecca Province, in western Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making ...

during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, and of being involved in war crimes. In 2012, Bangladesh law minister

Shafique Ahmed Shafique Ahmed (born 16 July 1937) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He served as the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. Education Ahmed earned his bachelor's and master's in geography fro ...

stated that Mueen-Uddin would be charged for war crimes. However, the prosecution has delayed submitting charges. He is accused of being a top member of the notorious paramilitary force Al-Badr and of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami political party, which fought for the country to remain part of Pakistan. Mueen-Uddin has denied all allegations.

Arrest warrant and extradition conditions

On 2 May 2013, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal brought war criminal charges against Mueen-Uddin and

Ashrafuz Zaman Khan Ashrafuz Zaman Khan ( bn, আশরাফুজ্জামান খান, ur, ; born February 28, 1948) is one of the convicted masterminds of 1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals. In 1971, he was a member of the Central Committee of the I ...

. The United Kingdom does not have an

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

agreement with Bangladesh, and the UK was reluctant to extradite Mueen-Uddin without assurances of a fair trial, plus assurances that there would be no death penalty in the event of a guilty verdict. Although Scotland Yard said in the 1990s that Bangladesh had primary jurisdiction for prosecuting Mueen for the 1971 killings, Britain could reconsider its decision to not prosecute. Both Mueen and Khan were charged with committing a war crime by killing 18 intellectuals who were Dhaka University Professors Ghyasuddin Ahmed, Rashidul Hasan, Anwar Pasha,

Faizul Mahi ANM Faizul Mahi, ( bn, ফয়জুল মহি;1939 – 14 December 1971) born in the district of Feni, was a Bengali educationist. Education and career Mahi joined the Institute of Education and Research in 1968 after obtaining Ed.D. (doctor ...

, famous playwright and Professor

Munier Chowdhury Munier Choudhury (27 November 192514 December 1971) was a Bangladeshi educationist, playwright, literary critic and political dissident. He was a victim of the mass killing of Bangladeshi intellectuals in 1971. He was awarded Independence Day A ...

, Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury, Dr Abul Khair, Dr Santosh Chandra Bhattacharyya and Dr Sirajul Haque Khan, Professor of Cardiology

Mohammed Fazle Rabbee Mohammed Fazle Rabbee (occasionally spelled Rabbi, bn, মোহাম্মদ ফজলে রাব্বী; 21 September 1932 – 15 December 1971) was a renowned cardiologist and a published medical researcher. He was the joint professor ...

, eminent eye specialist AFM Alim Chowdhury, Physician Mohammad Martuza, Novelist and Journalist Shahidullah Kaiser, Journalist and Poet

Selina Parvin Selina Parvin (31 March 193114 December 1971) was a Bangladeshi journalist and poet. She is one of the intellectual martyrs killed by Al-Badr on 14 December, immediately before the victory after the 9-month-long war of independence of Banglades ...

, Journalists

Serajuddin Hossain Serajuddin Hossain (1 March 1929 – 10 December 1971) was a prominent Bangladeshi journalist. He was the news and executive editor of ''The Daily Ittefaq''. He was captured from his residence by the Pakistan army with the help of Al-Badr and Ra ...

, Syed Nazmul Haque,

ANM Golam Mostafa ANM Golam Mostafa, (1942 – 14 December 1971) was a martyred Bengali journalist. Early life and career Mostofa was born in 1942 in Pangagram in Nilphamari district. He graduated from Surendranath College in 1963. He completed his master's degr ...

, and Nizamuddin Ahmed, in between 10 and 15 December 1971. An arrest warrant also issued for them. Both of them was most wanted after Bangladesh liberation war. According to prob report ''Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin'' was "operation-in-charge of Al-Badr".

Allegations from the relatives of the victims

The widow of one victim, Dolly Chaudhury, claims to have identified Mueen-Uddin as one of three men who abducted her husband, Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury, a prominent scholar of Bengali literature, on the night of 14 December 1971. "I was able to identify one f the abductors Mueen-Uddin," she said in video testimony, seen by ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

''. "He was wearing a scarf but my husband pulled it down as he was taken away. When he was a student, he often used to go to my brother in law's house. My husband, my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law, we all recognised that man." Professor Chaudhury was never seen again. The widow of another victim, claims that Mueen-Uddin was in the group that abducted her husband, Sirajuddin Hussain, another journalist, from their home on the night of 10 December 1971. "There was no doubt that he was the person involved in my husband's abduction and killing," said Noorjahan Seraji. "I have waited 40 years to see the trial of the war criminals," said the widow, Noorjahan Seraji. "I have not spent a single night without suffering and I want justice." One of the other members of the group, who was caught soon afterwards, allegedly gave Mueen-Uddin's name in his confession. Another reporter on Purbodesh, Ghulam Mostafa, also disappeared. The vanished journalist's brother, Dulu, said he appealed to Mueen-Uddin for help and was taken around the main Pakistani Army detention and torture centres by Mueen-Uddin. Dulu Mostafa said that Mueen-Uddin appeared to be well known at the detention centres, gained easy admission to the premises and was saluted by the Pakistani guards as he entered. Ghulam was never found. Mueen-Uddin's then editor at the paper, Atiqur Rahman, said that Mueen-Uddin had been the first journalist in the country to reveal the existence of the Al-Badr Brigade and had demonstrated intimate knowledge of its activities. After his colleagues disappeared, he said, Mueen-Uddin had asked for his home address. Fearing that he too would be abducted, the editor gave a fake address. Rahman's name, complete with the fake address, appeared on an Al-Badr death list found just after the end of the war. "I gave that address only to Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, and when that list appeared it was obvious that he had given that address to Al Badr," Rahman said in statements given to the investigators. "I'm sure I gave the address to no-one else." Rahman then published a front-page story and picture about Mueen-Uddin, who had by that stage left the city, naming him as involved in "disappearances." This brought forward two further witnesses, Mushtaqur and Mahmudur Rahman, who claim they recognised the picture as somebody who had been part of an armed group looking for the BBC correspondent in Dhaka during the abductions. The group was unsuccessful because the BBC man had gone into hiding.

Verdict

On 3 November 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal – a special Bangladeshi court set up by the government – sentenced Mueen-uddin to death after the tribunal found him guilty ''in absentia'' of torture and murder of 18 intellectuals during 1971

Liberation war of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali n ...

. According to '' The Daily Star'', lawyers called no defence witnesses, whereas the prosecution brought in 25 witnesses, due to non-co-operation from Mueen-Uddin's family. Those sentenced in absentia are not eligible to challenge the court's verdict. Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin denied the charges in an interview aired by

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

in August 2013. The tribunal also said that Mueen-Uddin sometimes carried out the murders, and sometimes instigated and encouraged them. They ruled that he and his allies had complete control over the

Al Badr Al-Badr ( ar, البدر, ' "the full moon") is a militant group operating in the Kashmir region. The group was allegedly formed by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in June 1998. It is believed the group was encouraged by the I ...

during the 1971 War.

Reaction of trial from defence

However, the trial was criticised by

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জামায়াতে ইসলামী, Bānglādēsh Jāmāyatē Islāmī, Bangladesh Islamic Assembly), previously known as Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, or Jamaat for short, was ...

, the party he was served and which opposed the creation of Bangladesh and took part in committing war crime in 1971, stated that the trials were politically motivated. They also accused the current government of trying to destroy the opposition party by sentencing its leadership to death. However, the political motivation against Mueen-Uddin is unclear as he is living in the UK for more than 40 years. Mueen-Uddin's Legal Counsel described the verdict as ''"farcical"''. He further alleged ''"serious judicial and prosecutorial misconduct and the collusion of the Government with members of the judiciary and prosecution"'', and condemned the entire trial as a "show trial". John Cammegh, a barrister in chambers at 9 Bedford Row, London, which represents Mueen-Uddin, in an op-ed piece, stated that the trial ''"made mockery of that principle ''

f international law F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...

and that it served as ''"a terrible warning of the way in which the ideals of universal justice and accountability can be abused"''.

Reaction from victims' relatives about verdict

Relatives of the victims voiced their satisfaction at the verdicts. Professor Rashiddudin Ahmad, whose brother Giasuddin Ahmed, a university teacher at the time was amongst those killed, said: ''"We have waited 40 years for this. It is some sort of justice, even though the sentence may never be carried out."''

Europe's reaction to the trial

The UK said on 22 January 2013 that it supported the war crimes trial in Bangladesh but always opposed capital punishment while Germany and France termed the trial an internal affair of the country. They gave their reactions a day after the International Crimes Tribunal-2 awarded death sentence to

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Following In ...

for genocide and crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. Warren Daley, spokesperson of the British high commission in Dhaka, said: ''"The UK has made clear its support for Bangladesh's efforts to bring to justice those accused of atrocities committed in 1971. Along with our EU partners, we are however opposed to the application of the death penalty in all circumstances."''

References

External links

About MFGHC
Multi-Faith Group for Healthcare Chaplaincy * Ward, Stephen

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. 3 May 1995
Rising Unhappiness With Muslims in Europe: Poll
''Islam Online''. 19 December 2004 * Hasan, Jamal

''AINA''. 17 March 2007
Corrections and clarifications: Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. 9 December 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mueen-Uddin, Chowdhury 1948 births Living people Bangladeshi emigrants to England British people of Bangladeshi descent Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Bangladeshi journalists Bangladeshi people convicted of war crimes People sentenced to death in absentia Bangladeshi prisoners sentenced to death 1971 Bangladesh genocide perpetrators Prisoners sentenced to death by Bangladesh