Syrian asylum seeker al-Kontar should be granted refugee status: Bar Council

KUALA LUMPUR: Asylum seeker Syrian Hassan al-Kontar should be granted refugee status following his arrest, said the Bar Council Migrants, Refugees and Immigration Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Sri M. Ramachelvam.
"Our position is that he should be granted refugee status. He is obviously an asylum seeker from what has been recorded.
"Therefore, I believe that he should be accorded asylum in our country and we should facilitate his exit," he told reporters today after launching the National Consultation on Comprehensive Policy Framework for Refugees here.
Ramachelvam said a Canadian lawyer is acting for al-Kontar and that the Canadian High Commission is involved in liaising with him on his request for asylum to Canada.
It is learnt that al-Kontar may be deported to Syria in two days' time.
Recently, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was given access to al-Kontar.
UNHCR spokesman Yante Ismail confirmed this to theSun.
"Following Hassan al-Kontar's arrest last week, we understand he is currently being held in an Immigration detention facility.
"On Oct 5, UNHCR was given access to him briefly to explain the steps being taken to help him and what may happen next.
"When we met him, Hassan al-Kontar understandably looked tired, but was otherwise coping," she said.
"Since we learnt of Hassan al-Kontar's arrest, our office has been in regular contact with the Malaysian authorities to ask for his immediate release.
"We have not yet received an official reply from the authorities to this request.
"We will continue to closely monitor the situation and advocate for a rights-based solution for Hassan al-Kontar with the government," she added.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman had said that al-Kontar has declined assistance from Malaysia and insisted on going to Canada.
The 36-year-old al-Kontar, who has been stranded at KLIA2 for seven months, refused Malaysia's help to place him as a refugee and to be given a special pass under the Syrian refugee programme, he added.
"I've been made to understand there are other countries that are willing to accept him," Mohd Azis said.
"There are other countries that want him but he still wants Canada. That is the problem and which is why we want to deport him to Syria because that is his home country."
He said Putrajaya has communicated with the Canadian government, but the latter could only accept him after a period of two years.
"We can't have him stay at the airport nor at the depot. What option do we have? Even the Syrian embassy has met him to convince to return but he has refused," he added.
Al-Kontar had been stranded at KLIA2 since March 7, when officials refused to let him board a flight to Ecuador.