A total of 48 war criminals convicted in crimes against humanity are still absconding. Of them, 32 are sentenced to death. Law enforcers are yet to trace them. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), however, has asked the authorities concerned to take necessary action to arrest the convicts.
In this regard, letter has been sent to 30 districts and police stations along with the address of the fugitive convicts. On the other hand, a state reward has been announced for confirmed information on the whereabouts of the fugitives. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs is also working to bring back the war criminals who have fled abroad.
Immediately after the victory in 1971, the local collaborators of the invader Pakistani forces started fleeing the country almost instantly knowing they would be charged with crimes against humanity. Many of them have not yet been traced. In this context, the trial ended in the absence of several absconding accused.
According to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), from 2010 to 30 November, 2019 a total of 94 persons have been convicted with death sentence and imprisonment till death. 84 persons are still under trial and arrest warrants were issued against them during the investigations.
The total number of accused in 40 cases declared by the tribunal are 104. Of them, eight died while undergoing treatment in the jail before the verdict and two died while absconding before the verdict. Death penalty awarded convicts who are absconding are - Jamaat leader Abul Kalam Azad aka Bachchu Razakar of Faridpur, Feni's Daganbhuiya Upazila’s Ashrafuzzaman Khan aka Naaeb Ali and Chowdhury Moinuddin of Maksudpur in Gopalganj district, former BNP leader Zahid Hossain Khokon of Nagarkanda Municipality in Faridpur District, Syed Hassan Ali of Brahmanbaria and Gazi Abdul Mannan of Kishoreganj.
The list of the convicted also include, Nasir Uddin Ahammad aka Captain ATM Nasir and Md Hafiz Uddin, Abdul Mannan of Jamalpur, Ashraf Ali and Abdul Bari, Idrees Ali Sardar of Shariatpur, Sayeed Muhammad Hossain of Kishoreganj, Abu Saleh of Gaibandha, Muhammad Abdul Aziz aka Ghoramara Aziz, Ruhul AMin, Abu Muslim Mohammad Ali, Nazmul Huda, Abdur Rahim Mia, Abdul Jabbar Mondal, Jahichar Rahman aka khoka, Abdul Wahed Mondal, Montaj Ali Bepari aka Momtaj, Nesar Ali and Mobarak Miya of Moulovibazar, Abdul Aalam aka AKM Mansur of Noakhali district, Abdul Nur Talukdar, Abdul Mossabir Mia, Liakat Ali and Aminul Islam of Habiganj, Sheikh Abdul Mazid aka Mazid Maulana, Abdul Khalek Talukdar, Abdus Salam Beg and Nur Uddin and Hedayat Ullah Anju of Netrokona.
In this regard, senior investigating officer, M Sanaul Haque, said letters along with pictures of the fugitives have recently been sent to the district administrations. In addition, the ICT has directed the Home Secretary and the IGP to seek help from Interpol to arrest the fugitive convicts.
