The Bangladesh government on Saturday said that it would cooperate with Malaysian authorities in their investigation against 36 Bangladeshis recently arrested there over their alleged link with extremism.
鈥楤angladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur immediately engaged with the relevant Malaysian authorities and formally requested the identities of the individuals and information regarding the allegations brought against them,鈥� said the foreign ministry in a press release issued in Dhaka on Saturday.
It said that the Bangladesh government was closely monitoring the developments, and the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur was in close communication with the relevant authorities in Malaysia, a major destination of Bangladeshi migrant workers.
鈥楤angladesh High Commission will extend necessary support to the expatriate Bangladeshis wherever needed,鈥� said the release.
Last week, Malaysian authorities announced that they had arrested 36 Bangladeshis in the recent security operations for their alleged involvement in extremism, the foreign ministry release said.
鈥極f the arrested/detained individuals, formal charges have been filed against five in Malaysian courts. The rest are in the process of either further investigation or deportation,鈥� it said.
Bangladesh once again reiterated its firm stand against all forms of terrorism and violent extremism, and it remains ready to extend full cooperation to the Malaysian authorities in this regard, according to the release.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate court on Saturday asked the police to lodge a regular case against three suspected extremists deported by Malaysian authorities, as they were produced on the dock, according to a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha report.
The three suspects are Nazrul Islam Sohag, Md Redoanul Islam and Zahid Ahmed.
Court officials said that metropolitan magistrate Israt Zenifer Zerin asked the police to file a regular case against the trio as police arrested them on their return home and produced before her with a remand petition, according to the report
The magistrate advised the police to seek their remand in custody after filing the case.
On Thursday, the police arrested the three militancy suspects on their arrival at the Shahjalal International Airport in the capital after their landing following deportation from Malaysia saying they were linked to an extremist group.
Police said that their Anti-Terrorism Unit inspector M Abdul Baten interrogated the three arrested under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure ahead of escorting them to another CMM court on Friday.
Magistrate Misbah Ur Rahman ordered them to be sent to jail until the initial investigation was done in line with a police petition.
Magistrate Israt鈥檚 order came on Saturday as police produced them before her court with the remand petition.
Malaysian police said on Friday that they had arrested 36 Bangladeshi migrant workers suspected of supporting the Islamic State group by promoting its ideology and raising funds through social media, reported Agence France-Presse from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Police inspector-general Mohd Khalid Ismail said that the Bangladesh nationals, who had arrived in Malaysia to work in factories, construction sites and petrol stations, were arrested in coordinated operations since April, according to the AFP report.
鈥楾he group attempted to recruit members to fight in Syria or for IS,鈥� Khalid was quoted to have told a televised news conference on Friday.
鈥楾hey raised funds to be sent to Syria, and also to Bangladesh,鈥� he said, adding that collections were transmitted through e-wallets and international funds transfer services.
Malaysia depends significantly on foreign workers to meet labour demands in the nation鈥檚 key manufacturing and agriculture sectors, with tens of thousands of Bangladeshi nationals arriving each year to fill these roles, the AFP report said.