Malaysia a UNHRC member but notorious for extraditing UNHRC political refugees back to their homeland to face severe punishments

Lawyer to challenge ex-Bangladeshi envoy’s arrest in court

The arrest of former Bangladesh ambassador to Malaysia, Mohamed Khairuzzaman, was unlawful, says his lawyer.


GEORGE TOWN: 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.

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.

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kt comments:

Isn't Malaysia a member of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)?

International Federation of Journalist reported on 28 Oct 2021 (extarcst only):

Malaysia: Government secures seat at UN Human Rights Council

On October 15, Malaysia secured a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2022 – 2024 term with 183 votes. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges the Malaysian government to fulfil its role in upholding human rights in and create a safe and enabling environment for the media to carry out its responsibilities without fear of discriminatory restrictions or interference.

View of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on August 24, 2021. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP


Malaysia has won one of the 18 seats on the UNHRC, reflecting the country’s determination to continue to make progress to protect and promote human rights, both domestically and internationally. The appointment comes at a critical juncture for Malaysia, as the nation recovers from the social and economic effects of COVID-19.

Announcing the news on social media, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said, “We are ready to play an active role - to be the facilitator for conciliation, enabler for cooperation, and builder of consensus.”

“Malaysia will work closely with UN Member States to advance the global human rights agenda, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the Prime Minister continued.

Ahead of its win, Malaysia made voluntary pledges to undertake the Universal Periodic Review, an examination of human rights records of all UN member nations, and to cooperate with relevant UN agencies and engageconstructively with the HRC.

Domestically, the Malaysian government vowed to implement policies to protect the rights of vulnerable groups, strengthen gender equality and female empowerment. They also committed to a national action plan on business and human rights, climate change, cultural rights and strengthening human rights institutions.

Civil society organisation, Article 19, urged the Malaysian government to honour these pledges if accepted to the UNHRC, referencing the existing lack of freedom of expression as a key concern. The Malaysian government made a series of promises to uphold human rights in a bid for a seat in 2006 and failed to uphold them.

So Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin wants to repatriate a UNHRC political refugee back to Bangladesh where his ending won't be promising, despite Malaysia being a UNHRC member. As mentioned before, this idiot Hamzah has a coarse, rude and biadap-ish attitude towards foreign guests, latest being the Indon Ambassador.

The last time Malaysia repatriated a UNHRC political refugee was during Mahathir's recent 7th PM reign. We know Mahathir lacked compassion nor had any interest in human rights UNLESS that benefited him or members of his immediate family. We saw him callously authorising the extradition of another poor UN political refugee Praphan Pipithnamporn, who would have been subjected to the horrors of Thailand's lèse-majesté law and punishments. Wonder whether the poor lady is still alive?

Praphan Pipithnamporn

Praphan: I haven't had the opportunity to have tea with PM Mahathir

Compare, nay, contrast that with his racist decision in refusing to extradite alleged money launderer and alleged religious inciter Zakir Naik to India because he was concerned poor darling Zakir might not face a 'fair' trial in India. Presumably Praphan Pipithnamporn would have in Thailand?




M: 1 or 2 cubes, my dear Zakir

Hah, tea, sympathy & Zakir


Much earlier, in May 2019, he also detained, then sent four Egyptians back to Egypt - those poor bastards were like Praphan Pipithnamporn, guaranteed to face severe punishment back home.

Fkc-ing inhumane.