"The Assassin Next Door" is the fourth episode of 49th season of Canadian documentary series '' The Fifth Estate''. The documentary was published by the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

-state affiliated media

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

. The investigative documentary episode is about

Noor Chowdhury S.H.M.B Noor Chowdhury is a retired army officer of Bangladesh Army who was convicted for his part in the 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état. Career In 1974, Noor was a major of the Bangladesh Army in the First Bengal Lancer unit. A Major ...

, the assassin of the first

President of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

, and it focuses on questions that raises about Canada's silence in the case of Noor Chowdhury's staying in Canada.

Background

The founding father and first

president of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

and his family members were

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

on 15 August 1975 in his residence of

Dhanmondi 32 Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, also known as Bangabandhu Bhaban or Dhanmondi 32, was a museum located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh, which was once the personal residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader and first president of Bangl ...

by a group of young

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

personnel as part of a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

Minister of Commerce A Commerce minister (sometimes business minister, industry minister, trade minister or international trade minister) is a position in many governments that is responsible for regulating external trade and promoting economic growth (commercial poli ...

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (; 27 February 1919 – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the Minister of Commerce in the third Mujib Rahman ministry under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and assumed the presidency of Bangladesh after the A ...

immediately took control of the government and proclaimed himself president. The assassination marked the first direct military intervention in Bangladesh's civilian administration-centric politics. The trial of the assassins was ended on 8 November 1998 ordering the death sentence to fifteen out of the twenty accused of conspiring in the assassination. Many of them were executed and many of them were died of natural causes. Some person are absconding.

is one of them who is currently living in

Description

The documentary reveals how one of the assassins

had fled to

now residing in a condo in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

west of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. It explored the circumstances of the Noor Chowdhury case and included interviews with numerous prominent figures including

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

, the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada Khalilur Rahman, and other individuals involved in the case. According to the documentary, Chowdhury is currently the most wanted criminal in Bangladesh. He was convicted in absentia and sentenced to death for

assassinating Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

the country's then

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, in 1975, and helping to plan the massacre of 21 members of the president's family and household, including his 10-year-old son. He was filmed tending to plants on his balcony but fled when confronted by the journalist outside his residence. The

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

including

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; )Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Department of Citizenship and Immigration (). is the Ministry ...

(IRCC) refused to comment on the documentary about the case. Despite a deportation order issued by IRCC in 2006, Canada has been publicly silent on its reasons for allowing him to stay, driving a wedge between the two long-friendly countries. The documentary also shows the friendship between

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 ...

in the time when

and

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

were in power.

Cast

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...

, daughter of

. * Anisul Huq, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, chief special prosecutor for the

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...

case. * Khalilur Rahman, High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Canada. *

Stockwell Day Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a former Canadian politician who served as leader of the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001 and later as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. A provincial cabinet minister from Alber ...

, former Canadian

Minister of Public Safety The minister of public safety and emergency preparedness () is the minister of the Crown responsible for Public Safety Canada and a member of the Cabinet of Canada. The portfolio succeeded the role of Solicitor General of Canada in 2005. Gary ...

. * Abdul Kahar Akond, former additional DIG of

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 ...

in the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...

, investigation officer of the

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...

. * Rob Currie, Canadian international criminal law expert, professor of law at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

. * Abdur Rahman Chowdhury Rama, resident of

as a young boy in 1975. *

, former Lieutenant Colonel of

, assassin of

References

External links

Documentary on CBC Gem
*
Documentary website

Documentary website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassin Next Door CBC Television original programming CBC News Network original programming Investigative documentary television series Sheikh Hasina Cultural depictions of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Political scandals in Bangladesh 2020s Canadian television news shows