Kuala Lumpur; 2 October 2018: Hassan al-Kontar is a Syrian who lived in Malaysian airport for more than 200 days before Malaysian authorities arrested and removed him on Monday.
Al-Kontar was stranded there since March after failing in his attempts to gain asylum in Ecuador and Cambodia, and then being refused entry on his return to Malaysia.
According to the Middle East Eye, “Kontar has refused to return to Syria, fearing he would be forced into military service to fight in the country's ongoing civil war.”
According to Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali Mustafar, head of Malaysia's Immigration Department, Kontar was living in a "forbidden zone" of the airport, only intended for passengers boarding flights.
“Kontar had been talking to the volunteer before he was detained and in messages sent before they lost contact at 10:40pm local time said he had been surrounded by 12 police officers, who took him and his belongings.”, reported the Middle East Eye.
“Malaysia should recognise that Hassan al-Kontar could face serious persecution if he is forced back to Syria. There’s no acceptable reason for this arrest," said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for Human Rights Watch.
"The new Malaysia government needs to step in now, tell Immigration to immediately release him, and solve this situation in accordance with human rights and humanitarian principles. What’s really needed is high level intervention by senior Malaysia politicians to stop Immigration police from acting on their threats to force him back into a war zone.” said Robertson.
