POBNEWS24,Dhaka, Feb 12, 2022 : Bangladesh may not be able to bring back former Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia, M. Khairuzzaman who has been arrested in connection with a prison murder case, to the country.
Following his arrest by Malaysian immigration police, the government of Bangladesh has announced to take him back to the country.
But the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency, says M Khairuzzaman cannot be repatriated to Bangladesh because he is in Malaysia with a UN refugee card. Because it would be against international law.
The UNHCR said in a statement sent to local media on Saturday (Feb 12).
The UNHCR also said, sent in emails to the country’s media, that the Malaysian government could not deport him because it would violate international law.
Under the Refugee Rehabilitation Act, the government cannot send a refugee to a place where his life is in danger. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the law is binding on all countries.
At the request of the Bangladesh government, M Khairuzzaman was arrested by the country’s immigration police at his home in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday (Feb 9).
M Khairuzzaman is a retired Major of Bangladesh Army. He was convicted in the 1975 prison murder case and was later acquitted and appointed High Commissioner to Malaysia in 2007 during the caretaker government.
Malaysian immigration police have arrested former Bangladesh high commissioner to Malaysia, M Khairuzzaman, who has been living there as a refugee for more than a decade.
After the Awami League-led government came to power in 2009, they tried to bring him back to Dhaka. At risk, Khairuzzaman later received a UN refugee card in Kuala Lumpur and stayed there.
“If a person is threatened with life or liberty for racial, religious or political reasons, the government should not send him back,” said the vice-chairman of the Malaysian Bar Council’s Committee on Migrants and Refugees.
Meanwhile, Khairuzzaman’s wife Rita Rahman said, “The United States has granted his green card application. But the Malaysian police were waiting for a security check, which was rejected despite numerous appeals.
