Malaysian police have arrested former Bangladesh High Commissioner M Khairuzzaman at the request of the Bangladesh government, bdnews24.com reports citing Malaysian newspaper The Star
Khairuzzaman, a retired army major, was accused in the 1975 Jail Killing case. He was appointed as Bangladesh's high commissioner to Malaysia in 2007 under the caretaker government.
bdnews24.com was unable to get a statement from the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the matter. No official statement was available from the Bangladesh Mission in Kuala Lumpur either.
Malaysian Home Minister Daatuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin confirmed the arrest of Khairuzzaman on Thursday, The Star reported.
“The arrest was made according to procedures,” he said.
He described the grounds for the arrest as ‘an offence committed and a request by his home country’.
On Nov 3, 1975, four of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s closest associates, known as the four national leaders, were killed at Dhaka Central Jail. They were Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, M Mansur Ali and AHM Quamruzzaman.
Khairuzzaman was named as a suspect in the Jail Killing case, but was later dropped from it.
In 1975, after Bangabandhu’s assassination, Khairuzzaman joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
When the Awami League came to power in 1996, Khairuzzaman was serving as acting ambassador to the Philippines and was recalled. On Sept 24 of that year, he was arrested and his retirement was made compulsory.
In 2001, when the BNP-Jamaat alliance came to power, Khairuzzaman was freed on bail. On May 4, 2003, he was appointed as 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, when the Awami League came to power, they recalled him to Bangladesh to stand trial. But Khairuzzaman secured a UN refugee card and remained in Kuala Lumpur.