UNHCR | Refworld | Bangladesh: Information on Mr. Abdul Kader Siddiq... http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc...

Title Bangladesh: Information on Mr. Abdul Kader Siddiqi (Siddique/Siddiqui)

Publisher Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Country Bangladesh
Publication Date 1 April 1991
Citation / Document BGD8282
Symbol
Cite as Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Bangladesh: Information on Mr. Abdul Kader
Siddiqi (Siddique/Siddiqui), 1 April 1991, BGD8282, available at: http://www.unhcr.org
/refworld/docid/3ae6acba38.html [accessed 14 May 2011]

Bangladesh: Information on Mr. Abdul Kader Siddiqi (Siddique/Siddiqui)

Following the downfall of President Ershad in Bangladesh, a Reuters report on 16 December 1990
states that Kader Siddiqi, "a hero of Bangladesh's independence struggle" who is known as "the
Tiger", returned to Bangladesh after 15 years in exile in India ("Bangladesh Independence Hero
Returns After 15-Year Exile", 16 December 1990, 1).

According to a report carried by The United Press International on 1 January 1991, Abdul Kader
Siddiqui is an "Awami League leader who was once convicted in military court" ("Inmates in
Bangladesh Refers to Return to Cells", 1 January 1991, 1).

A Kyodo News Service report on 18 January 1991 maintains that the Bangladeshi authorities
arrested Abdul Kader Siddique, "a leading figure in the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971", on
17 January 1991 ("Asian News; Controversial Political Leader Arrested in Bangladesh", 18 January
1991 ). The source adds that the arrested person is a "top leader of the Bangladeshi Awami League"
who "recently submitted a nomination paper for next month's parliamentary election" (Ibid.).
According to the source, a Bangladeshi Home Ministry statement in January 1991 reasoned the arrest
as a legal measure since Mr. Saddique had been tried and sentenced to seven years imprisonment
and a fine in absentia on 24 July 1978 (Ibid.).

An article in The Independent on 18 January 1991 holds that the Bangladeshi police arrested Kader
Siddiqi "five weeks after he returned from a 15-year exile in India" ("Hero of Bangladeshi War Is
under Arrest", 18 January 1991). The article quotes a Bangladeshi radio broadcast as saying Mr.
Saddiqi "has been arrested under the Special Powers Act of 1974" (Ibid.). The source adds that "Mr.
Saddiqi was sentenced in his absence to life imprisonment for the killing of an army major and other
soldiers during a 1975 revolt in response to the murder of the president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in
a military coup" (Ibid.). The arrested person applied to run for a seat in the parliamentary election
which would be held on 27 February 1991, according to the source (Ibid.).

An article in Far Eastern Economic Review on 31 January 1991 reports that the government of
Bangladesh allowed Mr. Saddiqi to "seek a seat on an Awami League ticket" despite his detention
("The Crowded Field", 31 January 1991).

Additional information on the subject is currently unavailable to the IRBDC.

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UNHCR | Refworld | Bangladesh: Information on Mr. Abdul Kader Siddiq... http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc...

Attachments

Far Eastern Economic Review. 31 January 1991. "The Crowded Field."

Reuters. 16 December 1990. "Bangladesh Independence Hero Returns After 15-Year Exile."; 1, 2.
(NEXIS)

Kyodo News Service. 18 January 1991. "Asian News; Controversial Political Leader Arrested in
Bangladesh." (NEXIS)

The Independent. 18 January 1991. "Hero of Bangladeshi War Is under Arrest." (NEXIS)

The United Press International, 1 January 1991. "Inmates in Bangladesh Refers to Return to Cells.";
1, 2. (NEXIS)

Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration
and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The original version of this document may be found on the offical website of the
IRB at http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/. Documents earlier than 2003 may be found only on Refworld.

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