Bangladesh Activist Wins Asylum Ruling

A former official of an opposition party in Bangladesh, whose son and brother were killed by supporters of the ruling party after he fled the country, is eligible for political asylum, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Reversing a deportation order by immigration authorities, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Masudun Nabi had established a “well-founded fear of future persecution on account of political opinion.” The court returned his case to the Justice Department, which has final authority to grant or deny asylum.

Nabi, who lives in Ontario, represented himself in the case.

The court said Nabi, a factory owner, was vice president of the Jatiyo party in his district for 10 years. Members of the ruling Bangladesh National Party attacked Jatiyo meetings during the period, swinging clubs and sometimes firing guns; one attack occurred at a meeting that Nabi was addressing.

His house also was attacked several times and he was arrested in 1990, the court said.

Nabi left Bangladesh in 1993. His brother and one of his sons, both of whom had been campaigning for the Jatiyo party, were slain in the family’s house just before the 1996 elections. The court said other relatives blamed the ruling party’s supporters, the son’s death certificate attributed his killing to an opposing party’s members, and there was no evidence to the contrary.

Nabi also said his wife and other son, who remain in Bangladesh, have been harassed and threatened by political enemies and have moved to another city, where they keep a low profile.

In denying asylum, the Board of Immigration Appeals had said the deaths were unrelated to Nabi’s political activities or opinions. Immigration officials also said Nabi’s fear of reprisals if he returned to Bangladesh was unfounded because his wife and surviving son have not been harmed.

But the court, in a 3-0 ruling, said the deaths were politically motivated and gave Nabi, a prominent official in the same party, a reason to fear violence.

“Given the recent murder of his brother and son at the hands of BNP activists and the BNP’s continued actions against his family, the record compels the conclusion that Nabi’s fear of political violence is well-founded,” the court said.