The Dhaka Times Desk 100 suspected war criminals are on the run in the UK. This was reported by BBC. At least 100 suspected war criminals are reported to be living in the UK.
According to the news, the UK government has identified around 100 suspected war criminals from different countries living in the country last year. Most of them have been living there for several years. He has already applied for permission to immigrate there. This information was found in a BBC investigation.
The suspected war criminals include people from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Rwanda, Serbia and Sri Lanka. The British Home Office said war criminals would have no place in their country. However, the war criminals of Bangladesh were not mentioned in the news.
Human rights groups have long called for war criminals living in Britain to be prosecuted. But in many cases it is seen that the process of sending these war criminals back to their own country is blocked due to the question of human rights. It is said that if they are sent back to the country, there is a threat of torture and even killing them.
The BBC recently sought information about suspected war criminals from the British Home Office under the Right to Information Act. According to the information provided by the ministry, the ministry investigated about 800 cases in the last 15 months from January 2012. The search identified 99 people accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity. They have already applied for British citizenship or asylum or permission to live in the country. Another 16 suspected war criminals were found to have sought permission to enter the country. An earlier report had identified around 700 suspected war criminals in the UK between 2005 and 2007.
Michael McCann, chairman of the British Parliamentary Committee on the Prevention of Genocide, said that the government's need for more transparency about suspected war criminals living in Britain has become clear. The UK Border Agency (UKBA), a border agency under the Home Office, looks after immigration and immigration into Britain. McCann said, 'The branch of the Home Office (UKBA) that looks at these things is really an empty box. The organization has failed in so many ways that it is impossible to count. I think we should look at the matter in the interest of the security of the country and the people.
According to the investigation, out of the 99 suspected war criminals, three were sent back to their country last year. 20 asylum applications and 46 citizenship applications were rejected. It is not known what happened to the others.
Last May, five suspected war criminals were arrested in Britain for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Some of them have been in Britain for more than a decade. An initiative was taken to send four of them back to the country once in 2009. But the attempt was stopped by an order of the High Court on human rights issues. If they are sent back to Rwanda, their lives may be in 'real danger', the High Court said. Human rights groups say the case is proof of the limitations on prosecuting war criminals in Britain. James Smith, an officer at the charity Aegis, which works to prevent crimes against humanity, said that if it is not possible to send them back to the country, they can be tried in Britain. However, he said that the matter of cost is involved with it.
The city police said they are currently investigating 56 suspected war criminals. Of these, only 9 have been recommended for investigation by the UKBA. However, there are also questions about the inconsistency of information from the police and the UKBA.
A spokesman for the Home Department said, 'All those who have such allegations against them should face justice in their respective countries. We always want to repatriate them.' Source: Dainik Kal Kantha based on BBC.
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