Bangladeshi immigrant sentenced to 20 years in prison under Sheikh Hasina’s regime in Dhaka avoids deportation from UK

A Bangladeshi immigrant has won the right to stay in the UK after a court ruled he cannot be deported as he faces 20 years in prison over explosives charges if he returns.The man, known as “MM” in court, was granted asylum after successfully arguing that Bangladesh’s charges against him were false and politically motivated. He said he was targeted by the previous Awami League government due to his links with opposition political groups, the Daily Mail reported. The interior ministry acknowledged that the bomb charges may have been false but said it was safe for him to return because the political situation in Bangladesh had changed. However, a higher court ruled in his favour.MM told the court that he was the “political leader” of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party. He said the Awami League filed false criminal charges against him while he was in Cyprus in 2015.He was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to court documents he provided. These documents have been verified as authentic. Seven other men, including Ahsan Habib, Mostafa Kamal, Mehedi Hasan, Rabiul Islam, Monowar Hossain, Jamirul Islam and Moynul Islam, were also previously convicted and sentenced to the same prison term.High Court Judge Madeleine Ritz said: “[It was] Confirmed [migrant’s] The case relies on the surviving finding that there are actual issued court documents proving that he has been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, and that there are two other outstanding warrants for his arrest. The question is, [he] Problems faced on return given having been convicted in absentia and taking into account national information.“They added: “He noted that the Home Office’s handling of the case was difficult to follow given the retained findings that the documents were genuine court-issued documents that were politically motivated and false and not based on any criminal conduct.”Additionally: “The documents were proven to be authentic and the appeal was therefore decided in favor of MM.”The Home Office believes that the resignation of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League in August 2024 means that MM will no longer be at risk. After months of student-led protests that turned into a nationwide uprising, Hasina resigned and fled to India. A United Nations report said as many as 1,400 people died during the unrest, most of them shot by security forces.Judge Riz said the Awami League had not completely lost power and still had supporters within government offices and law enforcement agencies. She cited reports that the country remains unstable, with some innocent people being arrested and authorities reviewing cases believed to be politically motivated.She concluded: “I therefore conclude that there is a reasonable probability of these particular facts being established. [migrant] Both parties believe they have been detained on politically motivated charges and convictions that are unlawful and do not reflect any wrongdoing. [him]”.It added: “Although these incidents relate to events under the previous regime, the conviction remains, the sentence is lengthy and there is a real risk that he will not be released on bail based on the evidence available.”The court granted his appeal, which means he will stay in the UK.