Mohamed Khairuzzaman, 65, Bangladesh’s high commissioner to Malaysia from 2007 to 2009, was picked up by authorities from his residence in Ampang yesterday. He is reportedly wanted in his home country for undisclosed reasons.
Home minister Hamzah Zainudin said the arrest of the former diplomat was carried out in accordance with legal procedures.
Khairuzzaman’s wife, Rieta Rahman, told FMT her husband’s arrest was politically motivated.
“My husband is an honourable person, an A-grade ambassador and an innocent man with no criminal records,” she said in a phone call from the US, where she is currently based with her son.
“Bangladesh is not safe for people who are not with the current government. He will not survive if he is sent back.”
Prisoner of conscience
Rieta, 60, said Khairuzzaman had been previously detained without charge or trial for three years and nine months in 1996, with Amnesty International regarding him as a political prisoner and a prisoner of conscience when he was released in 2001 during a change of government.
The arrest was related to the 1975 “jail killings” which resulted in the deaths of four Awami League political party members (which is the current ruling government in Bangladesh) and national leaders. Khairuzzaman, a former army officer, was a suspect in the killings.
After a stint at the foreign affairs ministry from 2003, Khairuzzaman was appointed as high commissioner to Malaysia in 2007. Two years later, he was recalled after a change of government.
Rieta said her husband decided to remain in Malaysia in exile, fearing further persecution back home. She said she and her husband had obtained refugee status much earlier as a safety net.
She said Khairuzzaman had been renewing his visa every two years without any problems, but it was only recently that he had been denied a visa by the immigration authorities, who gave no reasons.
Green card application
Rieta said they then applied for a green card in the US to live with their eldest son. She said Khairuzzaman faced an issue in completing the application as he had trouble obtaining security verification from the Malaysian police, as required by the US.
She questioned the “mysterious” circumstances of her husband’s detention, claiming that immigration officers, accompanied by a “high security escort”, had barged into his Ampang home.
“His friends went searching for him, only to be told that it is a high-profile, secret case. No one knows anything.
“The last I spoke to him was yesterday (Wednesday) morning. He was not feeling well and was feeling depressed. Given the current circumstances, he was worried about our other son too.
“I wonder if he will be allowed to take his medication for blood pressure and other (ailments). I hope someone can stop his deportation,” she said.
She said a Malaysian lawyer had been engaged to try and prevent him from being sent home.