Law minister bins media reports on Noor Chy

“The Bangladesh High Commission in Canada has confirmed us that the media reports were untrue,” Anisul Huq said, adding that he also spoke to the foreign minister, now in New York, after the news broke in local media. “The high commissioner [in Canada] also contacted with the Bangladesh desk at the Canadian foreign office as well as the convict’s lawyer to confirm the matter.” Canada’s constitution does not allow the country to send back any death-row convict to any country where the sentence can be executed, the minister said. The news of Canada deporting Noor first came in Kolkata’s Anandabazar Patrika, and later carried by several Bangladeshi newspapers. Lt Col (retd) SHMB Noor had served in Hong Kong, Iran, and Brazil before leaving for Canada on a visit visa in 1996. He left the country as the then Awami League government scrapped the Indemnity Act that prevented the trial of Mujib’s killers. A Dhaka court on November 8, 1998 sentenced Noor and 14 others to death for the assassination of Bangabandhu and most of his family members on August 15, 1975. After appeal hearing, the death penalty of 12 was upheld and five of the convicts hanged in 2010. Noor’s application for refugee status has been rejected a total of four times. His political asylum application was rejected in 2006 and at that time, his appeal against death sentence was pending with the Supreme Court. Canada also sent his passport to the Bangladesh high commission in Ottowa that year and was positive about his deportation. But the then government took no step to bring him back. He filed another application in mid-2007, which is stated to be pending with the Attorney General’s office. The law minister said that the Bangladesh’s efforts to bring back the convicted killers would continue. “The government will raise the issue on table whenever two countries hold talks,” he added. Bangladesh had requested Canada several times to extradite Noor, but the requests were turned down. During her recent visit to Canada, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina raised the issue during a meeting with her counterpart Justine Trudeau who assured her of finding a way for the deportation of Noor Chowdhury.