Law Minister Anisul Huq said on Monday the government is trying to bring the fugitive killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman back from abroad, report agencies.
"We've information about them, but I can't reveal that in public. If we do so, the killers may change their locations. When we pin them down, we'll reveal their information," said the minister while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
Taking about the process to bring back M Rashed Chowdhury, a fugitive convict who is now staying in the US, Anisul said, "We'll go to the court to bring back Rashed Chowdhury. Efforts are already on to bring him back and it'll be successful."
Referring to another convict, Noor Chowdhury, staying in Canada, the minister further said, "We couldn't bring Noor Chowdhury back due to legal complications, but discussions are on to bring him back."
Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said there has been 'significant progress' in bringing the convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman back to Bangladesh.
"But we cannot speak more for the sake of the work," Md Shahriar Alam told journalists while speaking on the progress of fugitives on Monday, ahead of the National Mourning Day on Aug 15.
The state minister said it has been the 'top priority' of the foreign ministry, but 'unfortunate this issue is so complicated that we have yet to bring them back'.
"This hurts us as much as it hurts the 160 million Bangalee people," he said.
"We are continuing our efforts. There has been significant progress. But we cannot say more," he said.
Convict Rasheed Chowdhury is living in the US while Noor Chowdhury is in Canada. The whereabouts of the other four are not clear.
The state minister indicated that they are probably currently living in Pakistan, a Middle-eastern country and an African country.
He said they have been able to impress upon the US and Canada governments that those convicted killers must be brought back to establish rule of law in Bangladesh.
The problem is that their domestic laws, particularly the Canada law, prevent the repatriation of anyone who faces death penalty.
"Still we see hope. We have started the legal process in Canada as Noor Chowdhury lost his asylum case and the court did not make any comment regarding his deportation," he said. "This is significant progress."
