Independent report

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin – apology

Published 7 October 2019

© Crown copyright 2019

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/challenging-hateful-extremism/chowdhury-mueen-uddin-apology

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin was born in what is now Bangladesh, but moved to the UK in 1973, becoming a British citizen in 1984. Mr Mueen-Uddin has held a number of prominent positions and charitable positions in British society, including helping to set up the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), being a trustee of Muslim Aid and serving as the vice chairman of the East London Mosque. He was also Director of the MCB project ‘Muslim Spiritual Care Provision in the NHS’.

In the October 2019 Commission for Countering Extremism Report entitled ‘Challenging Hateful Extremism’, in a section entitled “What Extremism Looks Like in England and Wales”, the Commission referred to Mr Mueen-Uddin as one of those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971 and so providing an example of a link between those responsible for the violence and community leadership in East London.

The context of that statement in the Report was that, in 2013, Mr Mueen-Uddin had been convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (the ICT) in Bangladesh over atrocities committed in the 1971 War. The Tribunal was set up under the auspices of a 1973 Act enacted by the Bangladesh Parliament, though no Tribunals had been convened prior to 2010.

The Report did not make clear or emphasise the following facts:

  1. Mr Mueen-Uddin has consistently and vigorously denied the allegations against him, which he considers to have been politically motivated.
  2. The ICT had been the subject of widespread condemnation for its practices and procedures and lack of protections for those accused.
  3. Mr Mueen-Uddin had no proper opportunity to defend himself and could not have attended the trial without facing likely execution. Similarly, there was no real possibility of him bringing an appeal against his conviction.

The Commission subsequently removed all reference to Mr Mueen-Uddin in the online version of the Report, though did not issue a correction at the time. The Home Office and the Commission accept that any reference to Mr Mueen-Uddin’s ICT conviction should not have been published without reference to the facts above.

The Commission, and the Home Office, apologise unreservedly to Mr. Mueen-Uddin for the distress and reputational damage which the publication of these allegations has caused him. Both also acknowledge the further distress caused to Mr Mueen-Uddin by the lengthy Court proceedings culminating in the unanimous Supreme Court judgment in his favour in June 2024, reinstating his claim, which had been struck out.

As well as apologising to Mr Mueen-Uddin, the Home Office has agreed to pay him substantial damages for libel, as well as his legal costs.

A copy of the Supreme Court judgment can be found here.

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