US concerned over plot to abduct Joy, say expat Awami League leaders

The US has expressed concerns over a plot to abduct Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy, son of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, expatriate Awami League (AL) leaders claim.Several leaders of the party’s US unit met senior officers Christopher Elms and Gilbert Morton of the State Department’s Bangladesh desk on Friday in Washington.

US AL president Siddiqur Rahman later told bdnews24.com that the State Department had “expressed deep concerns” over the conspiracy to abduct Joy.

“Two officials told us that the US was monitoring the situation closely,” he said.

A US court earlier this month sentenced BNP leader’s son Rizve Ahmed alias Caesar to three and a half years in prison for bribing a FBI special agent for information on Joy.

Joy, also an adviser to the prime minister, later accused top BNP leaders of conspiring to ‘abduct and kill’ him and said he had provided a ‘victim statement’ in a US court.

According to court documents, Ceaser wanted to “kidnap and physically harm” Joy and his family living in Virginia.

He also sought to obtain and publish the confidential information to damage Joy’s reputation.

Caeser provided the confidential and sensitive information to “a Bangladeshi journalist, a political ally and a private investigator and obtained approximately $30,000 in return”.

The son of Mohammad Ullah Mamun, vice-president of BNP’s cultural wing JaSaS, told his former co-worker Johannes Thaler that he would be “a hero to his party” if his scheme worked out.

He had also hired a private detective to get information on Joy and paid him $4,000 to help him “scare, kidnap, and hurt” the prime minister’s son.

Siddiqur Rahman said they requested the US to take legal steps, alleging that top BNP leaders had ordered and abetted the conspiracy.

“The officials told us that the US was determined to provide safety to its citizens,” he added.