By The Daily Star
The High Court in Malaysia has granted an interim order against the immigration department from deporting former Bangladeshi Ambassador Mohammed Khairuzzaman to Dhaka.
Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan passed the order during case management of Khairuzzaman’s habeas corpus application today, reports Free Malaysia Today.
Khairuzzaman (65) is wanted in Bangladesh for undisclosed reasons, but his wife, Rieta Rahman, had contended that his arrest was politically motivated by the Bangladesh government.
He was picked up by immigration authorities from his residence in Ampang on February 10.
The former diplomat’s legal team contends that he was a political asylum seeker with a UNHCR card and had not committed any immigration violations, and hence his detention was unlawful, Free Malaysia Today reported.
In granting Khairuzzaman’s application for a stay, Judge Zaini said: “I don’t want to hear that he has been deported against this court order that I have granted.”
Earlier, Khairuzzaman’s lawyer, Edmund Bon, had brought up the issue of immigration officers deporting Myanmar detainees last year, despite a court order barring the government from doing so.
“I hope the immigration (department) doesn’t take matters into their own hands,” he said.
Federal counsel for the immigration department Wong Siew Mun said he would get back to the Attorney General’s Chambers on the interim stay.
The court however set May 20 to hear Khairuzzaman’s habeas corpus bid.
In an immediate response, Khairuzzaman’s wife, Rieta Rahman, said she was thankful for the court’s decision, but hoped the whereabouts of her husband be made known, Free Malaysia Today report adds.
She also asked if a doctor could examine Khairuzzaman, given his medical conditions.
“I want to know where my husband is and, if possible, speak to him,” she said.
