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Bangladesh wins a round in Nur Chowdhury’s matter in Canada
Muhammad Ali Bukhari from Toronto
Bangladesh has won a round in its court battle with Canada over Nur Chowdhury, who has been convicted in Bangladesh for taking part in a 1975 coup that resulted the death of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, reported by Jim Bronskill of the Canadian Press, a national news agency headquartered in Toronto.
In its original report titled as “Ottawa loses in court battle with Bangladesh over alleged coup plotter”, which appeared online on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 in the Daily Toronto Star disclosed the full detail. It stated, “In a ruling released Wednesday, the Federal Court of Canada ordered Ottawa (the capital, where the federal government exist) to revisit its decision not to disclose information to Bangladesh about Nur Chowdhury’s immigration status in Canada.”
It further entails, “In 2006, Chowdhury was found to be inadmissible to Canada due to serious criminality, but he has not been deported. In 2009, he sought a pre-removal risk assessment, a review of any dangers he might face if returned to his country of origin. Over the last nine years, Bangladesh has been in discussions with Canada about Chowdhury’s status and has expressed concern about the delay related to his risk-assessment application, the court ruling said. Last year, the high commissioner of Bangladesh wrote to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen asking him to invoke an exception in the federal privacy law that would allow him to legally divulge information about Chowdhury’s status in Canada. Hussen refused the request, saying requirements for a public-interest disclosure set out in the privacy law had not been met and that there was no information-sharing agreement between the two countries.”
Hence, Minister Ahmed Hussen’s refusal prompted Bangladesh to seek a Federal Court review. It said the minister did not properly consider the public interest in disclosure. Canada countered in court that Hussen’s decision and reasons were clear and adequate. For such, Justice James O’Reilly of the Federal Court of Canada sided with Bangladesh and expressed in his judgment that, “In my view, Bangladesh’s application for judicial review should be allowed because the minister failed to give serious consideration to the public interest that would be served if the information sought were disclosed.”
However, the report concluded that, “The decision does not mean the minister must agree to divulge the information, only that he revisit the issue, properly weigh the relevant factors and provide adequate reasons for the resulting decision.”