DHAKA VISAS VIPER REPORT - MARCH 2005

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 001308 SIPDIS SENSITIVE VISAS VIPER DEPT FOR INR/IC/TIPOFF AND CA/VO/L/C E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2015 TAGS: KVPR CVIS PTER PINR ASEC SUBJECT: DHAKA VISAS VIPER REPORT - MARCH 2005 ¶1. (C) Post's Visas Viper committee met on March 22, 2005. The committee discussed the addition of several leaders of two radical Islamic groups into the VISAS VIPER program. ¶2. (U) The government of Bangladesh has recently banned two radical Islamic groups, the Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangaldesh (JMJB). Police have arrested several leaders of the JMB, and there is an outstanding arrest warrant for the leader of the JMJB. The JMB has been implicated in a series of bombings and attacks on targets considered to be non-Islamic and advocates the establishment of an Islamic government in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi authorities have also frozen the bank accounts of the Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh (AHAB),an organization headed by the most well-known leader of the JMB, Dr. Muhammad Asadullah al Galib. The JMJB has similar goals and the group is widely believed to be behind a large number of attacks on targets considered to be anti-Islamic or un-Islamic in the western region of Bangladesh. Both organizations are linked to the Ahle Hadith movement, an organization with branches across South Asia. ¶3. (C) The leaders of JMB and JMJB are widely rumored to have close ties with Islamic groups in other countries. Post is continuing to collect biographic information on the leaders of these organizations and information on the organizations, their activities and possible links to Islamic groups in other countries. ¶4. (U) The meeting was chaired by DCM Judith A. Chammas. Acting Consular Section Chief Robert J. Jachim served as Visas Viper committee coordinator. THOMAS