Desk Report : Being refugee and enjoying second home programme cannot go together upon the existing laws.

But a leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is enjoying both in Malaysia by breaching the laws and throwing dusts into the eyes of the host country’s authorities concerned.

Even after holding the refugee status of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the leader visited different countries. He is also running political and trade activities from the foreign country.

In spite of being an accused in several criminal cases, including the murder of Italian citizen Tavella Caesar, the leader cannot be brought home to face the music due to his the refugee status the leader managed to gain.

The much-talked about the leader is MA Quayum, former president of Dhaka North City Unit of BNP.
In accordance with the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees, a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war and violence.

A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.

In the 1967 convention, the people, who are the victims of the war-ravaged countries and other types of violence, were included as the refugees.

Besides the definitions, if anyone is forced to leave the country, he or she is allowed to get political asylum or refugee status.

But the BNP leader Quayum fled to Malaysia after allegedly killing the Italian citizen.

In addition to, in Malaysia, the people of the war-ravaged countries like Myanmar, Syria and Iraq are mainly listed as the refugees, but Bangladesh is not going through any war; rather the country has given shelters of about one million rohingyas.
When contacted, Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh ambassador in Qatar, said that there is no chance of enjoying both the facilities—refuge and second home.

A refuge is a person having no shelter, he said, adding that if Quayum has the second home, he cannot get the refugee status.

Maybe, he has been living in the host country in any other way, said the ambassador.

Former ambassador M Humayun Kabir raised questions: How had the BNP leader obtained refugee status even after having passport and the second home?

It seems he took the path of fraudulence, said the ex-ambassador.
However, Tavella, the co-operation project manager of Netherlands based ICCOBD, was shot dead at Gulshan in Dhaka of Bangladesh on 28 September 2015.

Before he was indicted in the case filed for the sensational murder, Quayum managed to flee to Malaysia from the country.

On 28 June 2016, Inspector of Detective Branch (DB) under Dhaka Metropolitan Police Golam Rabbani, also investigation officer (IO) of the case, placed a charge sheet (CS) before a Dhaka court.

Quayum, his brother Abdul Motin, Tamzid Ahmed alias Rubel alias Shooter Rubel, Rasel Chowdhury alias Chakki Rasel, Minhazul Arefin alias Bhagne Rasel, Shakhwat Hossain alias Sharif and Sohel alias Bhangari Sohel were included in the CS.

Of them, Motin, Tamzid, Rasel Chowdhury, Minhazul and Shakhawat are in jail. They except Motin gave confessional statement before the court while Quayum and Sohel are fugitive.

As per the CS, the accused killed the citizen aiming at tarnishing the image of the country and creating panic.
After the murder, the BNP leader with his family members began living in the foreign country under its second home programme; in the 11th national parliamentary election, his wife Shamim Ara vied in the poll race for being a member of parliament (MP).
However, on 12 January 2024, National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Malaysian police jointly arrested Quayum from his second home area under the immigration act.

Later, he came out of the jail on bail. The Bangladesh government could not bring him back home for the refugee status.

Quayum is now running his trade and politics from the host country.
After the arrest of the leader, his wife told mass media that he is a listed refugee of the UNHCR and he could not be labeled as an illegal migrant.
Now, a question arises if his wife can say so to the media when they are living under the second home programme and the leader has a passport.

Sevan, the lawyer of Quayum, claimed that his client was arrested upon the political revenge.
He also said that the BNP leader is a refugee and has been living in Malaysia under the second home since 2015.

If the leader was targeted politically, he could not leave the country. Bangladesh government could arrest him in 2015. Bangladesh is a democratic country where there is no room of political revenge.

The government did not arrest him by showing due respect to the court.
How has Quayum been listed as a refugee of the UNHCR where there is no way of getting refugee status of a killer?

The claim of Quayum`s lawyer that the leader is the victim of political revenge is nothing but baseless because Malaysia has no room for political asylum.

By claiming so, Sevan has disrespected the laws of his motherland.

Despite being a refugee, Quayum visited to England, the United States of America and some other countries using his passport, said sources.
Upon the directive of Quayum, a representative team met Mendi N Safadi, an official of Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, said the sources.
The meeting went viral on social media.