By LITO RULONA
Correspondent
A BANGLADESHI inmate at the Misamis Oriental provincial jail yesterday said he has been illegally detained for over two months, claiming that there was no case filed against him by authorities responsible for his arrest, and that he was wrongly accused of triple murder in the US.
The 49-year old inmate, Asif Iqbal Ahmed, appealed to President Duterte and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre to have him released because he was allegedly mistaken for another man.
Authorities arrested Ahmed supposedly because he has a triple murder case in Minnesota, and a human trafficking case in his own country.
But Ahmed claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, and that he was not the fugitive with triple murder and human trafficking cases abroad.
Ahmed said he has been detained for 70 days with no clear charges filed with the City Prosecutor’s Office.
The Bangladeshi had just stepped out of his apartment in Barangay Lapasan two months ago when police arrested him because he was supposedly wanted in the US for triple murder, and in Bangladesh for a human trafficking case.
Insp. Rustico Galagala Jr., chief of the Provincial Anti-Illegal Drug Special Operation Task Force, said Ahmed was arrested based on a warrant from the Interpol.
Galagala claimed that Ahmed was facing charges of human trafficking and was even described by the Interpol office in Dhaka, Bangladesh as a “seasoned trafficker.”
Ahmed said no case was filed against him by Galagala’s group, and instead, he was detained because he was supposedly overstaying in the country.
Ahmed claimed that on July 17, 2016, Bangladeshi Judge Advocate Mohammad Aktaruzzman Sipon certified that there was no pending case or warrant of arrest against him in Bangladesh.
He claimed another certification was issued by Uttara East Police based in Magistrate, Dhaka, Bangladesh issued clearance that he has no police record.
“I don’t deserve to be treated this way because I am not facing charges at all. The PNP accused me of triple murder in the US but I have not set foot in the US,” he said.
He said one proof that it was a case of mistaken identity are discrepancies in personal details like birthdates.
Ahmed said jailers opted to make him stay inside the prison chapel because there was no case against him.
“My stay here is just fine but I seek justice because I am being detained without charges,” he said.
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