A Malaysian court on Thursday has remanded Md Rayhan Kabir, who was arrested for appearing in an Al Jazeera documentary, for another 13 days, the Bangladeshi migrant’s lawyer said.
He will be interrogated in custody till August 19 after the police sought another 14 days to quiz him.
Rayhan's lawyer Sumita Shantini Krishna told Shariful Hasan, head of Brac Migration Programme, that they came to know late on Wednesday that police would seek fresh remand for him.
However, no representative from Bangladesh High Commission was present in the court on Thursday.
Malaysian authorities are yet to press any charges against Rayhan.
On Wednesday, Director General of Malaysia’s Immigration Department, Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said, Malaysian authorities are going to deport Rayhan soon.
However, he could not confirm the date of Rayhan's deportation and said the Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur flight may resume after August 31.
On July 25, the Malaysian Immigration Department confirmed that Rayhan had been arrested by its intelligence unit the day before in the Setapak area, following a two-week manhunt.
Rayhan was featured in Al Jazeera’s 101 East program “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown,” which alleged mistreatment of illegal immigrants in Malaysia during the process of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
On July 29, two lawyers representing Rayhan said he had expressed willingness to go back to Bangladesh.
The lawyers said Rayhan had “apologized” for his statement in the interview with Al Jazeera, which was made since he was emotional after seeing his friends detained in raids against undocumented migrants in May.
Different international and Bangladeshi rights bodies, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have condemned the arrest and demanded Rayhan's immediate release.
