Family of slain Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah leaves for Canada amid safety fears

Eleven members of the family of Mohib Ullah, a Rohingya leader who was shot dead in Cox's Bazar, have set off for Canada amid growing concerns about their safety in the refugee settlement.

They left Dhaka on a Turkish Airways flight at 11:45 pm on Thursday, said human rights activist Noor Khan, who is also a friend of the family.

Mohib Ullah’s wife Nasima Khatun, their nine children and son-in-law flew to the North American country as ‘refugees’ under the Government Assistance Programme of Canada, having previously expressed a willingness to go to any third country for shelter.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) helped them to move to Canada.

On Sept 29, a group of unidentified gunmen killed Rohingya leader Mohammad Mohib Ullah at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya. Known as Master Mohib Ullah, the Rohingya leader, who was in his late 40s, had been serving as the chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights.

Mohib Ullah’s group Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, or ARSPH, was founded in 2017 to document atrocities against Rohingya in their native Myanmar and give them a voice in international talks about their future.

After his death, Mohib Ullah’s family and followers were desperately trying to leave the Rohingya camp. They had also contacted different international organisations in a bid to leave the camp.

In October last year, Mohib Ullah’s nephew Mohammad Rashid Ullah, vice chairman of RSPHR, had said that members of 18 families were feeling unsafe in Kutupalong Rohingya camp. As many as 94 members of those families were kept in a secret safe house outside the camp. “But they are unwilling to stay there as well,” he had said.

Mohib Ullah’s friend Noor Khan said he went to see off the family at the airport. Mohib Ullah’s family thanked the government and the people of Bangladesh. They also requested the government to keep running the school established by Mohib Ullah in the Rohingya Camp, he said.