UNHCR asks KL not to deport Khairuzzaman
The UN Refugee Agency has requested the Malaysian authorities not to deport Mohammed Khairuzzaman, a former Bangladesh high commissioner to Malaysia, back home, confirmed multiple sources.
Khairuzzaman, an accused in the 1975 jail killing case, was arrested by Malaysian immigration police on Wednesday following a request from Bangladesh, according to Malaysian Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin.
The following day, the UN agency wrote to the Malaysian ministries of home and foreign affairs and the Immigration Department stating that the former diplomat was living in the country under refugee status, the sources said.
"As a matter of practice, UNHCR consistently advocates that refugees and asylum seekers -- having been confirmed or claimed to be in need of international protection -- cannot be returned to their countries of origin according to the principle of non-refoulement," said a spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in an e-mail response to The Daily Star.
The principle of non-refoulement prevents states from expelling persons to a territory where their life or freedom would be threatened.
"This is recognised as customary international law, which is binding for all states, regardless of whether or not they have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention," the spokesperson said, while declining to comment specifically on Khairuzzaman's case for protection and confidentiality reasons.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the arrestee's wife, Rieta Rahman, filed a habeas corpus application with the Malaysian High Court seeking a halt to the deportation until a hearing is held on the petition.
A habeas corpus is a writ requiring an arrestee to be brought before a court especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for the detention.
The court is scheduled to hear the appeal tomorrow.
There is no specific allegation against her Khairuzzaman, who suffers from hypertension, Rahman told the correspondent from New York.
The 70-year-old was acquitted in the courts of Bangladesh and has been living legally in Malaysia on a UN refugee card.
"Therefore, there is no ground for his arrest. The arrest and the initiative to deport him to Bangladesh was challenged at the Malaysian High Court," she said.
In another development, Malaysian Human Rights Commission wrote to the ministries of home and foreign affairs suggesting that Khairuzzaman should not be deported to Bangladesh, Gerald Joseph, a commissioner, told The Daily Star.
Khairuzzaman, also a former army major, was acquitted in the 1975 jail killing case in 2004. The acquittal order was upheld by the High Court in 2009 and Appellate Division in 2013.
Following his arrest, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam on Thursday said the Malaysian home ministry wrote to Dhaka informing that Khairuzzaman was arrested for violating immigration law.
"Khairuzzaman is at a deportation centre in Malaysia right now. As far as I understand, there is scope to interrogate him again and investigate him," Shahriar told reporters at the foreign ministry.
The Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur could not be reached for comment at the timing of filing the report.
Comments