Widower denied bail despite execution threat

A widower accused of trying to bribe officials investigating his wife’s death overseas would not flee Australia on bail due to potential execution in Bangladesh, a magistrate has heard.

Awlad Hossain, 50, applied for bail in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday after spending nearly a month in custody since his arrest at his Ipswich home.

The Redbank Plains welder is accused of sending more than $96,000 in an attempt to bribe officials in Bangladesh and stop police linking him and his family to the death of his wife in that country.

Hossain now faced an arrest warrant on the subcontinent and his complex legal situation left him unlikely to risk fleeing overseas, defence solicitor Torik Dib said.

“There has been no formal extradition application ... because they have capital punishment,” Dib said.

Rehana Parvin, an Australian-Bangladeshi dual national, was found dead by Bangladeshi police in September 2024.

The discovery was made a day after Australian Federal Police began investigating her disappearance.

Hossain could not return to Bangladesh or any other countries with the death penalty such as Indonesia, magistrate Tim Hishon heard.

“He is only protected from extradition because he is in Australia, because we as a country deem it against human rights for someone to be executed,” Dib said.

Hossain could still flee to some countries, the magistrate rebutted.

“He could be unlawfully in New Zealand working as a farm hand,” Hishon said.

Hossain was an Australian citizen and had deep connections to Queensland including owning three plots of land and house, Dib said.

The Commonwealth prosecutor opposed bail, arguing Hossain was a risk of offending while on bail, interfering with witnesses and failing to reappear in court.

Federal police investigating Parvin’s disappearance had tapped Hossain’s phones and planted a listening device in his ute on suspicion he could be charged with murdering an Australian citizen overseas, Hishon heard.

Hossain was allegedly captured telling a person “I have submitted the paperwork to court. I have paid 100,000 Taka” referencing Bangladeshi currency worth $A1170 and “they want money”, the prosecutor said.

He allegedly said he would “give anything” if Bangladeshi authorities withdrew him from the case.

During the alleged bribery, Hossain was already on bail accused of forging his wife’s death certificate to obtain her share of properties, the court was told.

The Bangladeshi government was shut down by civil unrest at the time, Hishon heard.

The magistrate refused bail, finding no conditions could reduce the risk of fleeing or committing offences to an acceptable level.

Hossain will now seek bail in Queensland’s Supreme Court, Dib said.