By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka
Interpol has issued a “red corner” notice for the arrest of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman on charge of murder and explosion of hand grenade at the Awami League rally in 2004.
Tarique has been in London since September 11, 2008 on medical grounds after securing parole in various cases. His Bangladesh passport is no longer valid and has not been renewed - so he lives in London as a refugee, reliable sources in London and Dhaka hinted.
The Interpol list has carried Tarique’s picture with details, saying Bangladesh is seeking him to stand trial in the 2004 grenade attack case. More than 24 Awami League workers were killed at rally. The attacks happened during the tenure of BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami coalition.
Tarique, then a powerful figure in the coalition government, is one of the alleged masterminds of the conspiracy leading to the attack. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, then an opposition leader, survived the attack but her hearing was affected.
Police say subsequent investigations have revealed that the assassination of Hasina was the main motive of the attack. Of the 52 accused in the case, 19, including Tarique, are
absconding.
He has also been implicated in a few other cases of treason and defamation for peddling his very own version of Bangladesh’s contemporary history, which includes dubbing the country’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a ‘Pakistani
collaborator’.
The High Court has also forbidden Bangladesh media and citizens from reporting statements by Tarique in all forms of media and social media like Facebook and Twitter.
Interpol has not said on its website when Tarique’s name was put on the wanted list. He was the last on the list of 67 Bangladeshis wanted by Interpol.
Earlier, Interpol issued a red corner notice against fugitive war criminal Abdul Jabbar.
The red notice, one of Interpol’s eight types of notices, means that the government and the judiciary of the relevant country are looking for the person
to try him or to punish him.
The member countries of Interpol can exchange information on fugitives.
As Tarique is in the UK, the British government can arrest him if they are satisfied with a complaint of Bangladesh, if they get any. In that case, the British government will try him first. An extradition treaty is needed to bring him back to Bangladesh to stand trial.
Assistant inspector general of police Mahbubur Rahman Bhuyian said the return of Tarique would depend on the diplomatic contacts between
Bangladesh and the UK.
“That’s not Interpol’s concern,” he said.
Tarique went to London on being released on parole citing health issues during the
emergency in 2008.
But he kept taking part in political programmes there. The government is trying to bring him to Bangladesh since he is facing arrest warrants.
The foreign ministry sent a letter in this regard to the UK in January. The government in its letter to the UK mentioned that Tarique was taking part in political programmes in violation of the refugee treaty signed in 1958.
According to officials in Dhaka and London, Tarique renewed his passport in December 2008 for the last time after going there in September the same year. The passport
expired in 2013.
Tarique Rahman ... facing arrest over 2004 attack at the Awami rally
