Convicted war criminal Mueen Uddin appeals to UK Supreme Court over defamation case
The UK High Court and the Court of Appeal previously dismissed the case.
Fugitive Jamaat leader and convicted war criminal Chowdhury Mueen Uddin, currently living in London, has appealed to the UK Supreme Court against the dismissal of a defamation case filed by him against the Home Office, UK.
The UK High Court and the Court of Appeal previously dismissed the case.
In 2020, the Jamaat leader, who was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh, sued former British Home Secretary Priti Patel for libel damages of £60,000 after she shared a Twitter post linking him to war crimes committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
Earlier, a 2019 report by the UK Home Office's Counter-Terrorism Commission stated that Chowdhury Mueen Uddin had been "convicted of crimes against humanity".
According to sources, Chowdhury Mueen Uddin's defamation case was initially dismissed by the UK High Court in November 2021. Subsequently, he appealed this decision in the Court of Appeal of the country, but his appeal was once again rejected in July 2022.
Mueen Uddin subsequently filed an appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision to the UK Supreme Court. It is anticipated that the appeal will be scheduled for hearing within the next nine to twelve months. However, sources have indicated that a hearing date could be set earlier than that.
According to the sources, Mueen Uddin claimed in the case that the report published by the UK government concerning his actions during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, and trial and punishment later in 2013 contains false information and has significantly damaged his reputation.
In November 2013, he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity conducted during Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971. He has been absconding in the UK since fleeing a liberated Bangladesh fifty-two years ago.
Shortly after 16 December 1971, when Bangladesh secured victory in the war against Pakistan, Mueen, who had been a leader of the notorious Al-Badr Bahini, left Bangladesh and assumed a leadership role within the Muslim community in the UK.