Hasan Mahmud (born 5 June 1963) is a fugitive politician from

Bangladesh Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

. He is a former

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

for the

fifth Hasina ministry The Fifth Hasina Ministry, the 21st cabinet of Bangladesh, was led by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. It was established following the 2024 general election held on 7 January 2024. The election results were declared on the same day, ...

, and a former member of parliament from Chittagong-7. Mahmud is regarded as one of the main

perpetrators In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U. ...

of the

July massacre The July massacre () was the violent suppression and mass killings in Bangladesh during the July Revolution (Bangladesh), July Revolution from July 16 to August 5, 2024. Triggered by the reinstatement of a controversial Quota system of Banglades ...

by justifying his government's atrocities to the world and suppressing the actual scale of it in his capacity as Foreign minister. He is currently wanted by

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police () is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order with ...

for his involvement in

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

during the

Student–People's uprising The July Revolution, also known as the Student–People's uprising, was a pro-democracy mass uprising in Bangladesh in 2024. It began as a quota reform movement in early June 2024, led by the Students Against Discrimination, after the Bang ...

of 2024. He has fled from

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

after fall of

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

's regime.

Early life

Hasan Mahmud was born on 5 June 1963 in

Chittagong District Chittagong District (), ( Chatgaiya: Sitang/Chatga), officially Chattogram District, is a district located in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. Due to its geographical location, Chittagong is classified as a s ...

. He completed his bachelor's and master's in chemistry from the

University of Chittagong The University of Chittagong () also known as Chittagong University (CU), is a public research university located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It was established on 18 November 1966. It is the fifth oldest university of Bangladesh. Having an area ...

in 1987 and 1989 respectively. He completed a second masters from

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

in environmental science in 1996. He earned his PhD in environmental chemistry from

Transnational University Limburg The transnationale Universiteit Limburg (abbreviation tUL and translation in English is: 'transnational University Limburg') is based in Belgium and the Netherlands. The tUL was founded together by both the Universiteit Maastricht and the Limburgs ...

in 2001.

Career

In 1977, Mahmud joined the Bangladesh Chhatra League. By 1988, he was the president of the Chittagong University unit of this group and was involved in campus control for

Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu (1 May 1945 – 4 November 2012) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Chittagong-12 constituency. He was awarded Independence Award in 2021 posthumously. Ear ...

. From 1996 to 2001, he acted as the political and parliamentary affairs adviser to then prime minister

. In 2001, he became special assistant to the opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, and later took on the role of secretary for environment and forest affairs in the Awami League. Mahmud was a member of the

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

for the Chittagong-6 constituency from 2008 to 2014, securing 101,340 votes, defeating

Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury (13 March 1949 – 22 November 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician, minister and six-term member of Jatiya Sangsad and member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee, who served as the adviser of ...

from the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

, who received 72,073 votes. In January 2009, he was appointed state minister for foreign affairs in Sheikh Hasina's cabinet but was shifted to state minister for environment and forests six months later. By November 2011, he was promoted to full minister of environment and forest, a position he held until the end of 2013. In 2014, he was in Chittagong-7 during an uncontested election, as the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, chose to boycott the election. He secured his position again in 2018, receiving 217,155 votes, while his closest rival from the Liberal Democratic Party got only 6,065 votes. In September 2022, Mahmud was nominated to the Awami League Local Government Public Representative Nomination Board. In October 2022, Md Mokbul Hossain, the secretary at the Information Ministry under him, was forced into retirement.

Controversies

During Mahmud's tenure as Environment minister from 2009 to 2013, multiple allegations of corruption surfaced involving the allocation of climate change funds. The Bangladesh chapter of

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...

provided with credible allegations of political influence and nepotism in distributing contracts in climate change related projects, and corruption in selecting NGOs to operate the ground works. The corruption in climate projects awarded during his tenure was subject of

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

's study on corruption. According to a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Bengali report, Hasan Mahmud acknowledged the corrupt practices and downplayed it as "comparatively less than before". Mahmud called Dr. Yunus a "traitor" during the July–August Protests for his statement to the world. He held the citizenship of

during his time as Member of Parliament which is illegal according to Article 66 of

Bangladesh Constitution The Constitution of Bangladesh is the supreme law of Bangladesh. The constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh on 4 November 1972, it came into effect on 16 December 1972. The constituent assembly was composed of officia ...

. On 6 August 2024, Mahmud attempted to flee to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, India after

's resignation as prime minister the previous day during the

Non-cooperation movement (2024) The non-cooperation movement, also known as the one-point movement, was a pro-democratic disinvestment movement and a mass uprising against the Awami League-led government of Bangladesh, initiated within the framework of 2024 Bangladesh quota r ...

but was intercepted and detained at

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Dhaka (; ) is the main international airport serving Dhaka City, the capital city of Bangladesh, and it is the largest airport in the country. It is located in Kurmitola, from the city centre, in the ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. On 11 August, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) ordered banks to freeze all accounts of Mahmud, his wife, Nurun, and their daughter, Nafisa. But on September 6, The Business Standard reported that he fled to Belgium via Germany after the fall of Hasina regime. Mahmud is accused of involvement in a murder case related to the death of Mohammad Alam, who was shot during a procession celebrating former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation on August 5. The case was filed by Md Jamal Uddin, the victim's brother, and names Hasan Mahmud, along with former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and others, as part of a group of 525 individuals accused in the incident. The case statement alleges that the accused, under the direction of Nowfel and Hasan Mahmud, attacked the procession and opened fire, resulting in Alam being shot in the head. He was subsequently taken to Chittagong Mother and Child Hospital and Medical College, where he was pronounced dead. The police have registered the case and are conducting an investigation. In addition to

during the

, Mahmud is currently involved in three separate legal cases filed in Chittagong, which include a total of 83 individuals. Among those named as prime accused are Mahmud, his daughter Nafisa Zumaina Mahmud and his brother Ershad Mahmud. The first case, filed by Harun Rashid Prakash, accuses Nafisa Zumaina Mahmud, along with nine named individuals and 30 unidentified individuals, of land grabbing through intimidation. The second case, initiated by Md Osman, names Dr. Hasan Mahmud and 31 others as accused of extortion, with 12 unnamed individuals also included. The court has ordered an investigation by the Rangunia police in this matter. The third case, filed by Kamal Uddin, charges Dr. Hasan Mahmud and 42 others, including his brother Ershad Mahmud, with assault resulting in grievous injuries to the plaintiff. These cases were filed with the Chattogram Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, and the magistrate's clerk, Zainal Abedin, confirmed the filings. The plaintiffs have indicated that they were previously unable to file cases against the accused due to their wealth and influence. The current legal actions represent an effort to seek justice in light of the alleged offenses. These cases are ongoing, and further developments are expected as investigations proceed.

Personal life

Mahmud is married to Nurun Fatema Hasan. They have a daughter, Nafisa Zumaina Mahmud. Nafisa is the chairperson of '' Green TV'', a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmud, Hasan 1963 births Living people People from Chittagong District Politicians from Chittagong Division University of Chittagong alumni Maastricht University alumni Vrije Universiteit Brussel alumni Hasselt University alumni Awami League politicians 9th Jatiya Sangsad members 10th Jatiya Sangsad members 11th Jatiya Sangsad members 12th Jatiya Sangsad members State ministers of foreign affairs of Bangladesh State ministers of environment and forests of Bangladesh Ministers of environment, forest and climate change of Bangladesh Ministers of information of Bangladesh People indicted for crimes against humanity Bangladeshi exiles Fugitive politicians Exiled Bangladeshi politicians