A
call for justice from Bangladesh
By
Michael Petrou
Bangladeshi
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was 27 years old when her
father, the first prime minister of Bangladesh, was
slaughtered along with most of her family in 1975. The
army officers who shot them installed a military government
and kicked off 15 years of coups, counter-coups, and dictatorship.
Hasina, who was out of the country at the time of the
massacre, has long sought justice for her family. In January,
five former soldiers convicted of the murders were hanged
in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, following a lengthy
legal process. Six of the convicted men are still at large.
At least one of them, Nur Chowdhury, lives in Canada.
Bangladesh
has repeatedly requested that Canada extradite Chowdhury,
whose refugee application has been rejected in this country.
But Canada has so far refused, because Chowdhury has been
sentenced to death in Bangladesh. Canada typically will
not transfer a suspected criminal to a foreign country
without a guarantee that he will not be executed. “He
is a citizen of Bangladesh, and according to the rule
of law, he got the death sentence,” said Hasina,
in an exclusive interview with Maclean’s. “Justice
should be done and the rule of law implemented, not only
for my family, but for the people of Bangladesh.”
Hasina
said that this dispute will not negatively affect relations
between Canada and Bangladesh. Canada is an advocate for
human rights, she said. She understands Ottawa’s
motives. “But these killers violated human rights,”
she said. “They killed women and children. So why
should [Canada] keep him? If they want to keep the killers,
we can send all the killers of this country to take shelter
in Canada and other countries.”
