The arrest of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has brought to the fore the question of returning influential fugitives abroad.
Dubai police arrested Benazir Ahmed on June 12 based on an Interpol red notice in a corruption case, the government said. Now the question is, how quickly can she be brought back to Bangladesh?
The central liaison and coordination agency of each member country with INTERPOL is the National Central Bureau (NCB). In Bangladesh, it is located at the police headquarters and works to exchange information and arrest international criminals and fugitives.Read more
How Benazir left the country
Prothom Alo spoke to five officials who have worked in the past and are currently working at the NCB regarding the issue of Benazir Ahmed’s return. They gave an idea of the entire process.
Police officials say that Benazir’s arrest is definitely a big step forward for Bangladesh. However, this is not the last step, a person can be identified or arrested in a police red notice; but sending him back to his home country depends on the laws, courts, extradition treaties, diplomatic activities and the admissibility of case documents of the country where he was detained.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told parliament on Sunday that a formal extradition request must be sent through diplomatic channels within 30 days from the date of arrest to return Benazir Ahmed. The Home Ministry will prepare and approve the extradition proposal and send a formal extradition request through diplomatic channels to the Emirati authorities through the Foreign Ministry.
The Home Minister said that the NCB will coordinate with the authorities in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates. He is hopeful that Benazir Ahmed can be brought back to Bangladesh very soon.
What happens if there is a red notice?
Many people have a common misconception about Interpol’s Red Notice—that it is like an international arrest warrant. In reality, it is not.
A Red Notice is a request to Interpol member countries to identify, locate, and, if necessary, temporarily detain a fugitive person. It is based on an arrest warrant or judicial order from a court in the country concerned.
In other words, the issuance of a red notice against Benazir Ahmed and her arrest in Dubai have crossed two major milestones; but the decision to send her to Bangladesh will be taken by the Emirati court.
Bangladesh must now prove that the case against Benazir is not one of political vendetta; it is a judicial process for corruption, illegal assets, fraud, money laundering or related crimes. At the same time, it must show that she will get justice in Bangladesh.
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What is the process of returning?
Police officials said that Bangladesh would typically need to send several types of documents to return Benazir. These could include a court arrest warrant, case file, charge sheet or summary of the investigation, information about her identity, details of the crime, relevant laws and punishment provisions, court orders and the legal basis for extradition. These documents may need to be translated and certified in a language acceptable to the Emirati authorities.
After receiving the extradition request, the relevant authorities in the Emirates will first verify the documents. Then the matter can go before the court. The court of that country will see whether the crime for which Bangladesh is seeking Benazir Ahmed’s extradition is also considered a crime under the laws of the Emirates.
This is called ‘dual criminality’, or being a crime under the laws of both countries. Allegations such as corruption, fraud, money laundering or illegal assets usually rank relatively strongly on this test.
However, the court may consider other factors, such as whether the case is politically motivated, whether the same incident has been tried before, whether the case or sentence has become invalid due to the statute of limitations, whether there is a risk of the defendant’s fundamental rights being violated, or whether his return could lead to inhuman treatment or other legal risks.
What are the chances in Benazir’s case?
People involved in the legal and diplomatic process say that the chances of Benazir being extradited are higher than those of many previous fugitives on red notice. There are several reasons for this.
First, Benazir Ahmed is now in the custody of the Emirati authorities. In many cases, Bangladesh has been able to issue red notices but has not been able to confirm the whereabouts of the accused, or the country concerned has not arrested him. Bangladesh has also not been able to prove the identity of many beyond a reasonable doubt. In Benazir’s case, at least, that obstacle is not there for now.Read more
Former IGP Benazir Ahmed arrested in Dubai
Secondly, the charges against her are focused on financial crimes and corruption. Interpol and related countries are more cautious about politically motivated charges when seeking red notices against political leaders including Sheikh Hasina. In Benazir’s case, the nature of the charges is relatively more likely to be shown to be at the level of ‘ordinary criminal offenses’ or general criminal offenses.
Third, there is an arrest warrant against her from a Bangladeshi court. Benazir has also been charged in one of the six cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The court order, chargesheet and documents related to illegal assets could strengthen the extradition request.
The possibility is high, but the return is not certain. Benazir’s lawyers may raise objections in the UAE court on her behalf. They may claim that the trial in Bangladesh will not be impartial, that the case has been vindictive after a political change, or that there are flaws in the charge sheet and process against her. Bangladesh will have to present strong documents, clear legal arguments, and diplomatic efforts to refute these objections.Read more
Benazir Ahmed’s arrest a historic success for the police: Home Minister in Parliament
What happened in the previous Red Notice?
Bangladesh’s past experience shows that issuing an Interpol Red Notice is one thing; bringing a fugitive back to the country is another. There are currently 59 Bangladeshis on the Interpol website’s ‘Red Notice’ list. Among them are top terrorists, accused in murder cases, fugitive convicts in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case, and fugitive accused in various cases; but most of them could not be brought back to the country.
A big example in this case is Rabiul Islam, known as Aarav Khan. A red notice was issued against him in the murder case of Inspector Mamun Emran Khan of the Special Branch of the Police. He was staying in Dubai; but his return to the country became complicated. Because, information came that he had an Indian passport. That is, even though he was a Bangladeshi citizen, he could not be returned in the end because he used an identity card or passport of another country. Such multilateral complications make extradition long and uncertain.Read more
Interpol issues ‘red notice’ against former IGP Benazir
Another example is top terrorist Zeeshan Ahmed. In 2019, he was arrested in Dubai. Bangladesh took the initiative to return him; but later his whereabouts became unclear. Sources said at the time that he was using Indian and Dominican Republic passports. In the end, he could not be brought to Bangladesh.
This incident shows that, even if there is news of an arrest, complications related to the courts, passports, citizenship, and identity of the country concerned can be major obstacles to extradition.
Two police officers involved in the process of returning Jisan told Prothom Alo that the Bangladesh police had all kinds of information about Jisan, who was in Dubai; but he denied being a Bangladeshi citizen to the Dubai police. At that time, the Dubai police asked for some information about Jisan, which the Bangladesh NCB could not provide for various reasons. Because of this, it was not possible to return Jisan at that time.
Rabiul Islam Arav could not be returned from DubaiFile photo
Red notices have not yielded any effective results for a long time in the case of the fugitive convicts in the Bangabandhu assassination case. Among them, Noor Chowdhury and Rashed Chowdhury are said to be in Canada and the United States, respectively, according to Bangladesh. Although Interpol has a red notice against them, they could not be returned. The reasons are diplomatic complications, legal protection related to asylum or status, the fear of execution of the death penalty, and the respective country’s own human rights position.
According to the police headquarters, Bangladesh has sought red notices against at least 25 people in the past year. They included ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her family members, former ministers, former advisors, businessmen, and fugitive accused in various cases.Read more
Benazir’s Story: The Diary of a Former IGP
However, apart from Benazir Ahmed, no information was found on the issuance of red notices against anyone important. There is a message in these statistics. Interpol does not accept all the applications that Bangladesh seeks red notices against.
Sources said that the number of red notices on Interpol’s public list is not the full picture. Because Interpol itself does not publish all red notices; many notices are restricted to law enforcement use. For example, Benazir Ahmed’s name is not yet on the Interpol website’s list of red notices.
Meanwhile, there are also examples of fugitive accused being brought back to the country through Interpol’s red notice. For example, a red notice was issued against the accused in the murder case of Harunur Rashid Khan, former chairman of Shibpur Upazila Parishad in Narsingdi. Following this, one of the accused, Mohsin Mia, was brought back in July 2023, and most recently, on May 6, the Bangladesh Police brought back Arif Sarkar, the mastermind and main accused of this murder, from Dubai.
Similarly, Mubarak Mondal, the mastermind and prime accused in the sensational headless Abraham Khan murder case in Araihajar, Narayanganj, fled to Qatar after the murder. Later, the police identified his location in Qatar through the issuance of an Interpol red notice and brought him back to the country on May 27.
In other words, these two examples show that extradition is possible if the country concerned is cooperative and the documentation is solid.Read more
Interpol application: Letter to issue ‘red notice’ against 12 people including Hasina, Quader, Benazir
What Bangladesh needs to do now
Sources say Benazir Ahmed is not just a fugitive; she was once the police chief of Bangladesh, before that she was the director general of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). She left the country after allegations of corruption, illegal wealth and abuse of power were leveled against her. If she is brought back in the wake of that, it would be a major symbolic success for the law enforcement agencies, the ACC and the government.
However, Bangladesh now has a clear deadline to return Benazir. A formal extradition request must be sent within 30 days of the date of her arrest. Any gaps in documentation during this period could weaken Bangladesh’s position in the Emirati courts.
Concerned people say that it is not enough to be satisfied with just the red notice and the news of the arrest. The extradition request must show a solid basis for the case. For what crime he is wanted, under which law in Bangladesh he is charged, what is the equivalent crime under UAE law, what is the current status of the trial, what are the court orders against him – everything must be presented accurately.
At the same time, the government must be active at the diplomatic level as well. Because extradition is ultimately a two-part process, both legal and diplomatic. Even if the court finds the documents admissible, administrative approval, a timetable for the transfer, and arrangements for safe return to the country must still be made.
Benazir AhmedFile photo
A red notice was issued against Benazir Ahmed during the interim government. Baharul Alam was the Inspector General of Police at that time. Regarding her return after her arrest by Dubai Police, Baharul Alam told Prothom Alo that Interpol’s job was to issue a red notice and inform the authorities of the concerned country. Now the matter is basically a process between the Bangladesh government and the United Arab Emirates government. Because, Dubai Police arrested her based on the red notice; but to return her to the country, a formal extradition request will have to be sent through diplomatic channels.
Highlighting the fact that Bangladesh does not have an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates, the former IGP said, “Therefore, a formal request must be sent with the entire context, case documents, court orders, and why Benazir Ahmed is ‘wanted’ in Bangladesh.”
Even if someone is arrested on the basis of a red notice, many times they cannot be returned. Some use passports from other countries, some deny their citizenship of Bangladesh. Due to such complications, it has not been possible to return fugitive accused before.
Therefore, Baharul Alam believes that proper documentation, identity verification, and regular diplomatic communication are very important to return Benazir Ahmed.
