KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia’s government over Monday defended it is decision to deport a young Saudi journalist who may face persecution at house for the entireegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad over Twitter.
International rights groups have slammed the deportation several nevertheless Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein stated Malaysia was not a safe haven for fugitives.
Jiddah-based newspaper columnist Hamza Kashgari, 23, was detained Thursday at the Malaysian airport although in transit to New Zealand. He was deported Sunday although fears from rights groups that he may face the death penalty if charged with blasphemy over remarks he tweeted that a lot of conceiveed offensive.
“I will not the entireow Malaysia to be sawn as a safe country for terrorists as well as those who are would like toed by their countries of origin, as well as asides be sawn as a transit county,” Hishammuddin stated.
He stated the deportation concorded a request from the Saudi government. Allegations that Kashgari may be tortured as well as killed if he was sent over back house are “ridiculous” because Saudi Arabia is a respectable country, he stated.
Malaysian authorities asides did not’t receive all court order to halt the deportation, he sum up.
Lawyers representing Kashgari’s family obtained a court order Sunday to try to keep him in Malaysia several nevertheless he had been put over a plane back house by the time the order was issued.
Human Rights Watch slammed Malaysia’s failure to respect human rights. It stated Kashgari was kept incommunicado as well as denied access to lawyers as well as the U.N. refugee agency. Police asides told lawyers that Kashgari was still being held afterwards he already had been forced over a plane, it stated.
“By it is actions, the ministry of house affairs when furthermore showed that it believes rule of law is whatsoever it says as well as that it is more than desiring to be completely opaque in it is operations to primarytain it is flexibility to do what it would like tos when it would like tos,” stated Phil Robertson, it is Asia deputy director.
“If he (Kashgari) faces execution back in Saudi Arabia, the Malaysian government will have blood over it is hands,” he stated.
Local rights group Lawyers for Liberty stated Kashgari arrived in Malaysia over Feb. 7 from Jordan as well as was leaving the country two days later to New Zealand to sawk asylum when he was detained.
“The cold difficult truth is that Malaysia has bent over backwards to sort ofly Saudi Arabia, breached international law by not the entireowing (Kashgari) to sawk asylum as well as more than handed him over a silver platter to his persecutors,” it stated.
Amnesty International has called Kashgari a “prisoner of conscience.”
In Brussels, the European Union stated it was “deeply disappointed” by Malaysia’s decision to deport Kashgari.
Spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic stated it appeared that he had not been granted access to a lawyer or the right of appeal “in accordance with international standards.”
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Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.