Commission for Countering Extremism issue apology for Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin

In the October 2019 Commission for Countering Extremism Report entitled ‘Challenging Hateful Extremism’, the Commission referred to Mr Mueen-Uddin as responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence, using him as an example of a link between those responsible for violence and community leadership in East London.

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin was born in Bangladesh and moved to the UK in 1973, becoming a British citizen in 1984. He has held a number of charitable positions, such as setting up the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), being a trustee of Muslim Aid and serving as the vice chairman of the East London Mosque.

In 2013, Mr Mueen-Uddin had been convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and sentenced to death for behaviour during the Bangaldesh War of Independence. But, the report failed to emphasise that Mr Mueen-Uddin has consistently and emphatically denied the allegations against him, that the ICT has received widespread condemnation for its practices and lack of protections for the accused, and that Mr Mueen-Uddin had no proper opportunity to defend himself and could not have attended the trial without likely facing execution.

Thus, the Commission removed all reference to Mr Mueen-Uddin from the report’s online version, but didn’t issue a correction. The Commission and the Home Office therefore formally apologise to Mr Mueen-Uddin for the distress and repetitional damage caused by the publication of allegations against him, as well as the stress of going through lengthy Court proceedings that saw the Supreme Court judgement to be in his favour in June 2024. The Home Office has also agreed to pay him substantial damages for libel, as well as his legal costs.