Farid Uddin Chowdhury (Bengali: ফরিদ উদ্দিন চৌধুরী; born 25 December 1947) is a teacher, politician and businessman. He was the former Member of Parliament for the Sylhet-5 constituency from 2001 to 2008, representing Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.[1]
Chowdhury began his career as an imam at the Gohorpur Mosque in Balaganj. He later became the principal of the Shahjalal Jamia School in Mirabazar, Sylhet. He is also a noted businessman in Sylhet, serving as the vice chairman of Al Hamra International Shopping Centre and the chairman of An-Noor Properties Limited.[2][3]
Politics
During his time at the Murari Chand College, Chowdhury became the president of the Islami Chatra Sangha, the student-wing of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, and was also a member of its Central Executive Council.[citation needed]
Chowdhury stood up as a candidate of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami for the elections of 1986, 1991 and 1996 but was unsuccessful. During the 2001 Bangladeshi general election, he was elected to parliament for the Sylhet-5 constituency.[4][5]
In 2008, Chowdhury was investigated by the International Crimes Tribunal and was accused of being a commander of the Al-Badr paramilitary force. In 2010, he ranked 24th on the list of 40 top war criminals during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. A list was given to the Immigration Police by the Ministry of Home Affairs which also mentioned Chowdhury's name. The Government of Bangladesh also sent lists to various embassies with Chowdhury's name among 40 war criminals.[6]
