The lawyer for a former Bangladeshi envoy who was arrested on Wednesday will contest his detention at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Mohamed Khairuzzaman, 65, was picked up by unknown persons from his Ampang home, where he had been living in exile for almost a decade.
Khairuzzaman’s lawyer, AS Dhaliwal, told FMT he would be filing a habeas corpus application this afternoon with a certificate of urgency. A habeas corpus is a legal action demanding that a prisoner be brought before a judge to determine if the former was being held illegally.
Dhaliwal said since his client was a political asylum seeker with a UNHCR card and had not committed any immigration violations, his detention was unlawful.
“My client has valid travel documents and was not even working here. He was just at home. He is a political refugee and Malaysia has no right to deport him.
“Under a 2019 directive, the home minister banned any UNHCR refugee from being deported. Therefore, there is no basis for him to be deported,” he said.
Khairuzzaman’s wife Rieta Rahman contends that his arrest was politically motivated by the present Bangladesh government. She pleaded with Malaysian authorities not to send Khairuzzaman to Dhaka, as “he will not survive”.
Home minister Hamzah Zainudin had said that Malaysia was merely obliging Bangladesh’s request for him to be arrested, but provided no further details. – FMT
Earlier reports:
Feb 11, Respect ex-Bangladesh envoy’s status as political refugee, home minister told
Feb 10, Former Bangladesh high commissioner’s arrested