High Court tells Immigration to halt deportation of former Bangladeshi envoy who sought asylum in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 ― The High Court here has granted an interim order against the Immigration Department from deporting former Bangladeshi ambassador Mohamed Khairuzzaman who has been residing here as a refugee for almost a decade.

In a report by Free Malaysia Today, Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan granted the order during case management of Khairuzzaman’s habeas corpus application today.

The judge also warned the department against disobeying the order after Khairuzzaman's lawyer, Edmund Bon, brought up the issue of Immigration officers deporting over 1,000 Myanmar detainees last year despite a court order ordering against such actions.

“I hope the Immigration doesn't take matters into their own hands,” he reportedly said. 

At the same time, the federal counsel for the Immigration Department Wong Siew Mun reportedly said he will get back to the Attorney-General's Chambers on the interim stay.

The court has set May 20 to hear Khairuzzaman's habeas corpus bid.

Khairuzaman, a holder of a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees card, was arrested on February 10 morning from his residence in Ampang area here.

While he is wanted in Bangladesh for undisclosed reasons, his wife, Rieta Rahman, had contended that his arrest was politically motivated by the Bangladesh government.

Bangladeshi media reported that Khairuzzaman, 65, was among the many names implicated in the 1975 Jail Killing case in Bangladesh at the height of a political war, which saw four prominent figures of political party Awami League killed.

He was later acquitted and appointed as a high commissioner to Malaysia in 2007, before being ordered back to Dhaka after Awami League came into power in 2009.

Fearing his safety, Khairuzzaman reportedly sought refugee status and continued living here.

In an immediate response, Rieta reportedly said she is thankful for the court's decision, but hoped the whereabouts of her husband would be made known and urged for a doctor to examine her husband, given his medical conditions.

“I want to know where my husband is and, if possible, speak to him,” she told FMT.

Khairuzzaman was also represented today by lawyers Ngeow Chow Ying and Yew Ding Wei.