Wife Rieta launches legal battle to stop Malaysia from deporting Khairuzzaman to Bangladesh

Rieta Rahman, wife of M Khairuzzaman, has mounted a legal battle to stop Malaysia from deporting the former high commissioner, who was accused in a case over the killing of four national leaders, to Bangladesh.

M Khairuzzaman in Putrajaya in 2008. Photo: Malaysian newspaper The Star

Rieta Rahman during an election campaign in Rangpur. File Photo

Avtar Singh Dhaliwal, a Malaysian lawyer appointed by Rieta, said on Friday he was filing an application for habeas corpus to the High Court of Kuala Lumpur.

Habeas corpus is a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

The lawyer said the application seeks declaratory relief, which refers to a court's judgment stating the rights of parties without ordering any specific action or listing awards for damage.

Among other things, the application seeks an interim stay of a deportation order by the Immigration Department and immediate release of Khairuzzaman.

In an email response, Dhaliwal told bdnews24.com they issued a notice dated Feb 9 to the Immigration Department demanding his client’s immediate release, failing which they shall proceed with legal action.

“To date, we have not received any reply from the Immigration Department and we have no idea as to the condition of our client,” he said.

M Khairuzzaman's UNHCR card

The lawyer hopes to get a hearing date by early next week.

Rieta could not be reached by phone. A person close to the family said she was abroad.

Her father Mashiur Rahman Jadu Mia was a leader of the National Awami Party and served BNP founder Ziaur Rahman as a cabinet minister.

She faced questions for her husband’s alleged role in the Jail Killing Case after the BNP nominated her to stand as MP for the Rangpur-3 seat in the 2018 elections. She lost to late Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad.

On Nov 3, 1975, four of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s closest associates -- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, M Mansur Ali and AHM Quamruzzaman -- known as the four national leaders, were killed at Dhaka Central Jail.

In 1975, after Bangabandhu’s assassination, Khairuzzaman joined the foreign ministry.

When the Awami League rose to power in 1996, he was recalled from the Philippines where he was acting ambassador. On Sept 24 of that year, he was arrested and his retirement was made compulsory.

Rieta Rahman during an election campaign in Rangpur. File Photo

In 2001, when the BNP-Jamaat alliance came to power, Khairuzzaman was released on bail. On May 4, 2003, he was appointed director general to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also served as an ambassador from 2001-2006 under the BNP government.

A court dropped him from the Jail Killing case in 2004. He was made a high commissioner in 2007, under the caretaker government, and sent to Malaysia.

In 2009, after the Awami League came back to power, they recalled him to Bangladesh to stand trial. But Khairuzzaman secured a UN refugee card and remained in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian police arrested him on Wednesday. A Malaysian minister described the grounds for the arrest as “an offence committed and a request by his home country”.

Citing a letter sent by the Malaysian home ministry to the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said on Thursday Khairuzzaman was arrested for breaching Malaysian immigration law.

He was kept at a detention centre where illegal migrants are lodged before deportation to their home countries, the state minister said.