Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sehli Sabrin, said that Canada and the United States are not interested in returning the killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it is regrettable that the self-confessed murderers are using the laws of these countries as a shield to avoid punishment for their crimes. Neither country showed any interest in addressing the issue of their repatriation in a political process. The Foreign Offices of both the US and Canada state that the matter is under the jurisdiction of their judiciary and the complexity of the legal process involved. Their judiciary is aware of the demands of Bangladesh and is avoiding the responsibility.
She said this in response to questions from journalists at the weekly media briefing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday (August 3).
Seheli said that the Bangladesh government is continuing all efforts to bring back Bangabandhu's self-confessed murderer Rashed Chowdhury and Noor Chowdhury from the United States and Canada respectively. Through Bangladesh embassies or high commissions located in the countries and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directly, regular demands have been made regarding the repatriation of murderers.
She said that this fair demand has been raised on behalf of the Bangladesh government in all high-level bilateral discussions. They have been told that impunity not only impedes the administration of justice, but also grossly violates the human rights of individuals and families deprived of justice.
Sehli said that during the recent meeting with the Prime Minister, Canada's International Development Minister Harjit S Sajjan demanded the repatriation of the killers. Apart from this, the same demand was made in the bilateral meeting held in Washington DC by the Foreign Minister and the United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. In addition, Bangladesh's demand for the repatriation of the killers was reiterated in a meeting with senior officials of the US State Department who visited Bangladesh.
She also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue all efforts in this regard until this demand for the lives of the people of all walks of life in Bangladesh is met.