Bangladeshi politician (1949–2015)
Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury (13 March 1949 – 22 November 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician, minister and six-term member of Jatiya Sangsad and member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee, who served as the adviser of parliamentary affairs to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in from 2001 to 2006. On 1 October 2013 he was convicted of 9 of 23 charges and sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh for crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence. However, limitations placed on his defense testimony were called "disturbing" and the trial was politically motivated.
He was executed by hanging in Old Dhaka Central Jail on 22 November 2015.
Early life.
Chowdhury was born on 13 March 1949 in Gahira village. He was from a political family of Raozan Upazila in erstwhile East Pakistan. His father, Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, was a Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly and Acting President of Pakistan from time to time before the independence of Bangladesh. He was the eldest among the six siblings. He received his education from the boarding school, Sadiq Public School at Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Political career.
Chowdhury was a member of the Bangladesh Parliament and of the standing committee of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Chowdhury was a seven-term Member of Parliament, generally representing Rangunia and/or Boalkhali Upazilas, starting with constituency Chittagong-7 in 1979. He was elected for Chittagong-6 in 1986 and 1991. He was elected for Chittagong-7 again in 1996, and re-elected in 2001. His final term, to which he was elected in 2008, was for Chittagong-2.
War crimes trial.
Chowdhury was arrested 2011 from his "safe house" in Dhanmondi and questioned by the special branch of police, where he was reportedly tortured. The trial for his involvement in the 1971 Bangladesh genocide were due to begin in August 2011.
War crime charges.
Among the charges submitted against Chowdhury in the International Crimes Tribunal were:
Trial.
During Chowdhury's trial the prosecution summoned 41 witnesses to testify while four were called in his defense. Commenting on the trial, the former United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, Stephen Rapp, said that it was "disturbing" that limitations were placed on defense testimony. Affidavits stating that Chowdhury was in Pakistan and studying law at the University of Punjab at the time of the crimes were not considered. Defense testimony from a former prime minister of Pakistan and a former American ambassador was not allowed by the court.
Conviction.
On 1 October 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh sentenced Chowdhury to death by hanging for nine out of the 23 charges brought against him. His party BNP argued that the trial is politically motivated. On 18 November 2015, Bangladesh Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of Chowdhury, upholding the death sentence. According to jail officials, Chowdhury asked for mercy in a petition to the President of Bangladesh, but his appeal was rejected.
Execution.
On 22 November 2015, at 12:45 in the morning, Chowdhury was executed by hanging at Dhaka Central Jail. Another convict, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, was also executed around the same time. Law Minister Anisul Huq claimed that Chowdhury and Mojaheed submitted a plea for mercy, which Chowdhury's family denied. Chowdhury was buried at his village home in Raozan Upazila, Chittagong on 22 November 2015.
Personal life.
Chowdhury was married to Farhat Quader Chowdhury. Farhat is the daughter of Alamgir Mohammad Adel (brother of Jahangir Mohammad Adel) and Laili Chowdhury (daughter of Lal Miah, zamindar of Faridpur). Their children include Farzin, Hummam (b. 1983) and Fazlul. In August 2016, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International alleged that Hummam was arrested on 4 August 2016, and disappeared. Amnesty says multiple credible sources place him at Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) headquarters in Dhaka on 12 August, but authorities have denied having him in custody. Hummam returned home in March 2017. Hummam is married to the granddaughter of industrialist A. K. Khan.
Chowdhury's brother, Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury, was a member of parliament from Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Other two brothers were Saifuddin and Jamaluddin. Industrialist brothers Salman F Rahman and Sohel Rahman were their cousins. On 3 January 2005, he met Sheikh Hasina and invited her to his son Faiyyaz's wedding. Hasina said that she couldn't attend the wedding due to security concerns after the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack. There were accusations that Salahuddin was involved in the grenade attack on Sheikh Hasina, to which Salahuddin replied that had he been behind the attack, the grenade wouldn't have missed Hasina.
Wealth.
The QC family is one of the wealthiest families in Bangladesh. His wealth was estimated to be around Tk. 1,000 crore. He owned a house in Dhaka's Dhanmondi area located on Road 10/A. He also owned his family's historic house located on Goods Hill in Rahmatganj (Chittagong) and three other houses in the Gohira village of Raozan Upazila, where he also owned hundreds of acres of land. Salahuddin and his brothers owned the QC Group based in Chittagong. The QC Group consists of:
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Alleged Singapore account.
In 2020, the Anti-Corruption Commission (Bangladesh) traced multiple accounts to Singapore which contained a combined 1 billion USD. The money was laundered there by a Bangladeshi citizen. An ACC official told the Daily Sun newspaper that the money belonged to Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury.
References.
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