Mr. Hamzah Zainuddin
Minister of Home Affairs Malaysia
Blok D1, D2 & D9,
Kompleks D, Pusat
Pentadbiran
Kerajaan Persekutuan, 62546
Putrajaya
Malaysia
Dear Sir,
The Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh is writing to you to urge you to ensure the immediate release of Mr. Mohammed Khairuzzaman, who was the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Malaysia from 2007 to 2009. From 1996 to 2001, the Sheikh Hasina-led government falsely charged Mr. Khairuzzaman in the political assassination case of 1975, in which the trial court acquitted him.
After assuming office, the Sheikh Hasina-led government in January 2009 recalled Mr. Khairuzzaman to Dhaka and revoked his Bangladesh passport. Assuming the imminent risks to his life, Mr. Khairuzzaman approached the UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur and obtained an identity card to continue his stay in Malaysia. Since then, he has been living there as a refugee.
Mr. Khairuzzaman was arrested by the Malaysian immigration police on the morning of February 9, 2022 from his residence in Kuala Lumpur. His defense attorney stated that he was detained without any valid reasons.
The Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh has reviewed numerous allegations that the government of Bangladesh, through its requests to the government of Malaysia to detain and eventually extradite Mr. Khairuzzaman, is unnecessarily targeting him.
We are certain that should Mr. Khairuzzaman be extradited to Bangladesh, he will face cruel and unusual retributions for crimes he is innocent of.
The Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government of Bangladesh is renowned for its use of cruelty, enforced disappearances, torture, false allegations and extrajudicial killings.
We are therefore extremely concerned about Mr. Khairuzzaman’s rights to continue living in safety.
Mr. Khairuzzaman’s wife lives with one of their sons, a US citizen, in the United States and they are deeply distressed that they have not been able to speak to him at all since his detention. They also worry that, as he suffers from high blood pressure and prostate issues, his health may deteriorate rapidly due to his predicament.
Furthermore, Mr. Khairuzzaman’s other son, who lives in Bangladesh, is in grave danger of abduction or illegal detention and torture. It is known that the government of Bangladesh regularly engages in such human rights violations on family members of people it targets.
We sincerely urge you to please consider this matter with the utmost urgency as an innocent person’s wellbeing and life are at stake.
Sincerely,
The Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh
CC: Mr. Antony J. Blinken
United States Secretary Of State
United States State Department
Harry S. Truman Building
2201 C Street Northwest
Washington, D.C.
USA
Secretary@state.gov
*CHRD Bangladesh is a nonprofit organization registered and based in the United States.
February 15, 2022
