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Tofail Ahmed Joseph

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Tofail Ahmed Joseph
Born
Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
NationalityBangladeshi
OccupationFormer gangster
Known forConviction for murder; alleged ties to ruling Awami League
RelativesAziz Ahmed (brother), Haris Ahmed (brother), Anis Ahmed (brother), Tipu Ahmed (brother)

Tofail Ahmed Joseph is a Bangladeshi national and a former convicted killer with a history of organised crime activity.[1] He is one of the Ahmed brothers, a group of siblings known for their involvement in gang violence in Dhaka during the 1980s and 1990s.[2] Joseph was convicted and sentenced to death for murder in 2004, but later received a presidential pardon and was released from prison in 2018.[2] His close familial ties to former Bangladesh Army chief Aziz Ahmed have drawn significant public attention and criticism.[3][4][2]

Early life

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Joseph's father was Abdul Wadud and mother was Renuja Begum.[5][6] His father was an official of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.[6] The family had five sons, Anis Ahmed, Aziz Ahmed, Sayed Hossain Tipu, Haris Ahmed, and Tofail Ahmed Joseph, and three daughters.[6] He was an activist of the Bangladesh Chhatra League in Mohammadpur.[5] His family was evicted from their home, purchased with a loan from the Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation, by a criminal gang.[5] He was stabbed in the early 1990s by gangster Morshed injuring his lung.[6]

Career

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Joseph was part of a powerful gang led by the Ahmed brothers, who controlled parts of Mohammadpur.[7] The gang was involved in extortion, violence, and allegedly protected politicians of the Awami League, including Sheikh Hasina during the politically unstable 1980s and 1990s.[7] He later became a member of the Seven Star Gang led by Subrata Bain.[5]

In 1996, Joseph was one of three brothers implicated in the murder of Mustafizur Rahman Mustafa, a leader of the Freedom Party.[7][5] Mustafizur Rahman Mustafa provided a deathbed statement, which became the basis for Joseph’s conviction.[7] In 2004, he was sentenced to death by the Speedy Trial Tribunal of Dhakafor his role in the killing.[7][1] He had 10 other cases regarding illegal firearms and extortion.[5] His brothers, Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed were sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.[8] On 20 September 2007, the High Court Division upheld his conviction.[1]

On 9 December 2015, Joseph’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Bangladesh Supreme Court.[5] He was represented by Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, Mahbub Ali and A. M. Aminuddin.[1] In 2018, during the tenure of his brother Aziz Ahmed as Chief of Army Staff, Joseph received a presidential pardon and was released from jail.[7] The Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, recommended him for pardon.[9] The pardon drew condemnation from civil society and international observers who questioned the transparency of the process and the apparent political favouritism.[7] Before his pardon, he was staying in relative comfort at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University as a VIP prisoner.[10]

Joseph is the brother of General Aziz Ahmed, who served as Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff from 2018 to 2021.[7] According to an Al Jazeera's investigation documentary All the Prime Minister's Men, Aziz played a key role in securing his brother’s release.[7] Recordings and documents obtained by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit show that Aziz used his influence to support Joseph and his other fugitive brothers, Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed.[7]

In 2019, Joseph was seen publicly attending his nephew’s high-profile wedding in Dhaka alongside his fugitive brothers and General Aziz.[7] The event was attended by the President of Bangladesh, Mohammad Abdul Hamid, and other political and military dignitaries.[7] In 2021, the Bangladesh Government pardoned Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed.[11] In late 2018, shortly after receiving the presidential pardon Joseph was photographed meeting with Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at the minister’s residence.[12] This meeting, which occurred just before his brother Aziz Ahmed’s appointment as Chief of Army Staff, raised serious concerns about the political motivations behind Joseph’s release.[12] Further scrutiny emerged when Netra News and Al Jazeera revealed photographs of Joseph with Benazir Ahmed, then head of the Rapid Action Battalion and later Inspector General of Police.[12] Bangladesh government dismissed the report as anti-Bangladesh propaganda.[13]

Both Joseph and his brother Haris secured Bangladeshi passports under fake names.[14] They had also acquired citizenship and a passport of Antigua and Barbuda.[14] After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August 2024, their national identity cards were cancelled by the Bangladesh Election Commission.[15][16] Their passports were later cancelled.[17] In September 2024, Salim Prodhan, the chairman of the Japan-Bangladesh Security Printing and Papers Company Limited, filed a extortion case against him and his brothers.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Joseph's death sentence commuted to life term". Daily Sun. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  2. ^ a b c "Top criminal Joseph released on clemency". www.newagebd.net. 2025-07-07. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  3. ^ "Ten things you need to know about the secret remission received by Haris and Anis". Netra News — নেত্র নিউজ. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  4. ^ "'Huge disgrace:' Civil society groups say Bangladesh must investigate US-sanctioned ex-army chief". Benar News. 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "President pardons top terror Joseph". The Daily Star. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  6. ^ a b c d Majumder, Nijhum (18 May 2021). "Mostofa Murder: Did Joseph, Haris and Anis Get Justice? (Part – 3)". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thorne, Will (2 February 2021). "The gangster, the general and the prime minister of Bangladesh". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  8. ^ "'Top-terror' Joseph's death sentence commuted". The Daily Star. 2015-12-09. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  9. ^ "Why are Haris and Anis not behind bars?". Netra News — নেত্র নিউজ. 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  10. ^ "Top terror Joseph in hospital for 20 months!". Prothomalo. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  11. ^ Asaduzzaman (2021-02-16). "Government pardon for Haris and Anis too". Prothomalo. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  12. ^ a b c "The home minister and the murder convict". Netra News — নেত্র নিউজ. 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  13. ^ "Bangladesh Rejects Report on Army Chief, 3 Brothers, as 'Smear Campaign'". Benar News. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  14. ^ a b Islam, Rozina (2024-05-23). "Two brothers of Aziz got e-passports too with false information". Prothomalo. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  15. ^ "Committee formed to investigate 'fake IDs' of Aziz Ahmed's brothers". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  16. ^ "Aziz Ahmed's two brothers get their NIDs cancelled". Prothom Alo. 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  17. ^ "Passport of ex-army chief Aziz's brothers cancelled after national ID revocation over forgery allegations". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  18. ^ "General Aziz and Brothers Accused of Tk100 Crore Extortion". Voice7 News. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
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