News Desk :
The Malaysian authorities are going to deport Bangladesh national Mohammad Rayhan Kabir, who was arrested in Malaysia for appearing in a documentary broadcast by Al Jazeera.
Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud, director general of Malaysia’s immigration department, confirmed the matter in a press conference on Wednesday.
However, he could not confirm the date of Rayhan’s deportation and said the Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur flight may resume after August 31.
Khairul Dzaimee Daud further said that the Malaysian police was now investigating the case against Rayhan, who has been placed on a 14-day remand.
“Rayhan will be sent to his country following the court order once his remand period is completed and the court gets police investigation report,” he added.
Daud also said that Rayhan’s visa has been revoked and he will be black-listed from entering the country again.
Meanwhile, the employer of Rayhan is also being investigated by the police, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said on Tuesday.
Hamzah said a notice had been sent to his employer on July 13, after Rayhan’s temporary visitor pass was revoked.
“Investigations are also being carried out on the employer. Any employer or foreign worker who went against the Immigration Act could be deported to their country of origin,” he said.
On July 25, the Malaysian immigration department confirmed that Rayhan had been arrested by its intelligence unit the day before in Setapak area, following a two-week manhunt.
Rayhan was arrested after he was featured in Al Jazeera’s 101 East program “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown,” which alleged mistreatment of illegal immigrants in Malaysia during the process of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
On July 29, two lawyers representing Rayhan said he had expressed willingness to go back to Bangladesh.
The lawyers said Rayhan had “apologized” for his statement in the interview with Al Jazeera, which was made since he was emotional after seeing his friends detained in raids against undocumented migrants in May.
