Ex-Bangladesh High Commissioner Arrested In Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin on Thursday confirmed that former Bangladesh high commissioner to Kuala Lumpur, Mohammed Khairuzzaman, has been detained by the authorities. Without disclosing the reasons for Mohammed Khairuzzaman's arrest, he just said the arrest of the former diplomat was carried out in accordance with existing legal procedures. “If there is a request from the country of origin that we feel has a basis, then we will make (arrest) and everything is done according to existing legal procedures,” he said. Hamzah said this when asked to comment on the detention of Mohammed Khairuzzaman, as reported by the international media today, during a press conference after chairing the Committee on the Management of Foreign Nationals in Sabah (JKPWAS) meeting. Mohammed Khairuzzaman, who is reported to be living in Malaysia as a UNHCR refugee, was detained at his home in Ampang on Wednesday, and is expected to be deported to Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Bangladesh media reported that Mohamed Khairuzzaman, a retired army major, was linked to the 1975 "Jail Killing" incident where four imprisoned national leaders of the country were brutally mudered. However, it was reported that he was later acquitted by the court. In 2001, he was charged for the involvement in the assassination of the country's first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but was released from all charges after a new government came into power. He was appointed high commissioner to Malaysia in 2007 during the then caretaker government but after the Awami League-led government came to power in 2009, he was recalled to Dhaka. Fearing for his safety and the fact he may be rearrested, he avoided returning to his homeland. -- BERNAMA