Interpol’s red notice on war criminal Jabbar

Interpol has issued red notice on Bangladeshi war criminal Abdul Jabbar who has been handed jail unto death for his crimes in 1971.

A letter from Bangladesh police sent to the special tribunal, that handed him the penalty, said the UK law enforcers issued the notice on April 10.

The tribunal’s acting Deputy Registrar Mohammad Aftabuzzaman said today he received the letter yesterday.

“Interpol issued the red alert last week to detect the fugitive war criminal,” said Assistant Inspector General of Police Mahbubur Rahman Bhuiyan, who is in-charge of the Interpol desk at police headquarters.

On February 24 this year, Jabbar was given jail unto death, in absentia, for old age for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971.

The special tribunal-1 found Jabbar, the then chairman of Pirojpur's Mathbaria Peace Committee, an anti-liberation force, guilty on all five charges brought against him.

It handed down “imprisonment for life till his natural death” on four charges and 20 years' rigorous imprisonment and Tk 10 lakh fine on the other charge.

The four charges that brought Jabbar jail until death are abetting and instigating the killing of two freedom fighters, and looting and torching of 150 Hindu houses in Kulupara and Nathpara on May 16; participation in the murder of a Hindu man and arson attacks in Phuljhuri on May 17; participation in an act of genocide that left 11 Hindus dead at Naligram on May 22; conspiring and abetting the abduction of 37 Hindus in Angulkata and Mathbaria on October 6 night and the killing of 22 of them.

The other charge he faced is for involvement in forced conversion of around 200 Hindu men to Islam in Phuljhuri in the last week of May 1971.

The sentences would run concurrently, said the court.

Earlier, Interpol also issued red notice upon BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman in connection with August 21, 2004 grenade attack on Awami League rally that left 24 people dead.