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MALAYSIA DEPORTS SAUDI JOURNALIST
February 12, 2012: Malaysia deported a young Saudi journalist who is wanted in his home country over a Twitter post about the Prophet Mohammed that sparked calls for his execution, an official said.
Hamza Kashgari, who was detained in Malaysia during the week after fleeing Saudi Arabia, left the country in the custody of Saudi officials, a Malaysian government official told AFP.
"He has been deported. He was picked up by Saudi officials at the airport," said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Kashgari fled to Muslim-majority Malaysia after making comments on the microblogging site deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammed, which fuelled a surge of outrage.
Insulting the prophet is considered blasphemous in Islam and is a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia.
Malaysia's government would not immediately confirm Hamza's deportation, but a Home Ministry statement Sunday said Kashgari would be sent back to Saudi Arabia.
"Malaysia has a long-standing arrangement by which individuals wanted by one country are extradited when detained by the other, and (Kashgari) will be repatriated under this arrangement," the statement said.
"The nature of the charges against the individual in this case are a matter for the Saudi Arabian authorities."
Malaysia and Saudi Arabia do not have a formal extradition treaty but have close ties as fellow Muslim countries. (Sources: AFP, 13/02/2012)
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