Family members of BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury have claimed that he was not a war criminal but, rather, a victim of judicial killing, alleging that his trial process lacked transparency.
At a press conference held at Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s residence in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi on Thursday afternoon, his younger son, Hummam Quader Chowdhury, made these claims on behalf of the family. Salauddin’s wife, Farhat Quader Chowdhury, and daughter-in-law (eldest son Fayaz Quader Chowdhury’s wife), Dania Khondokar, were also present.
Hummam Quader Chowdhury stated, “My father was not a war criminal. In 1971, he was in Punjab, Pakistan. Yet, he was falsely accused of war crimes and executed. Sheikh Hasina committed a grave injustice against my father.”
The former BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, popularly known as Saka Chowdhury, was a six-time elected MP. The International Crimes Tribunal framed charges against him in 2012 for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, including the murder of Nutan Chandra Singh (owner of Kundeshwari Pharmaceutical in Chittagong), leading attacks on Hindu-majority areas in Boalkhali’s Shakhapur alongside the Pakistani army (resulting in 76 deaths), and mass killings in Raozan’s Gohira.
Hummam alleged, “Four witnesses – Muneem Arzuman Khan, Ambar Harun Saigel, Ishaq Khan Khagwani, and Niaz Ahmed Noor – wanted to testify for my father but were denied visas. The tribunal rejected their testimony. Later, they shared their evidence via YouTube.”
He further claimed, “These names were flagged in encrypted messages (cipher) from Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry instructing embassies to deny them visas. We have obtained one such cipher.”
Hummam asserted that his father was denied a fair trial and that the Awami League government was directly involved in this “judicial murder.”
“Sheikh Hasina’s sole aim was to eliminate her opponents,” he said. “The Awami League seeks to cling to power by systematically disappearing, killing, or silencing rivals. Salauddin Quader Chowdhury became a target of her vengeance.”
When asked why his father was executed despite historic ties between the Sheikh and Chowdhury families, Hummam replied, “His stature as a nationalist leader overshadowed hers. Sheikh Hasina couldn’t tolerate his influence. She could have killed him with a bullet, but her goal was to erase his political legacy.”
The family plans to serve a legal notice to the Foreign Ministry demanding disclosure of the cipher messages. Hummam added, “We hope everyone will support our quest for justice.”