The Malaysian authorities' arrest of a Bangladeshi migrant worker who was featured in an Al Jazeera documentary was clear retaliation for his criticism of government policies towards migrants, Human Rights Watch said today.

The authorities should immediately release Rayhan Kabir, 25, and reinstate his work permit, said the global rights group in a media release.

"The Malaysian authorities' actions against Kabir send a chilling message to all migrant workers that speaking out about rights abuses risks arbitrary arrest, deportation, and blacklisting," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of HRW.

"The arrest of a source in a documentary adds to the devastating assault on free speech and media freedom in Malaysia," he said.

Rayhan was featured in an Al Jazeera documentary that aired on July 3 about the treatment of migrant workers in Malaysia during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

The government targeted both Rayhan and Al Jazeera, with the news agency now facing potential charges of sedition, defamation, and violation of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Al Jazeera is also facing charges that it failed to obtain a licence to make the film in an unprecedented use of Malaysia's National Film Development Corporation Act.

The authorities arrested Rayhan on July 24, 2020 and ordered his detention for 14 days "for investigation."

The director general of immigration announced that Rayhan "will be deported and blacklisted from entering Malaysia forever." It is not clear whether he will also face criminal charges.

On the day of his arrest, Rayhan wrote to a journalist saying, "I did not commit any crime. I did not lie. I have only talked about discrimination against the migrants. I want the dignity of migrants and my country ensured. I believe all migrants and Bangladesh will stand with me."

A group of 21 Bangladeshi civil society organisations called for Rayhan's release.

Rayhan's treatment by the authorities has raised important due process concerns, HRW said.

After the documentary aired, the authorities widely circulated a "search notice" that included his photo, name, and address, putting him at risk in an environment increasingly hostile to migrants.

A few days later, the inspector general of police in Malaysia announced to the media that the immigration department had revoked Rayhan's work permit. This, along with the announcement that he would be deported and blacklisted, was made without Rayhan receiving notice or having an opportunity to be heard.

The government's public attacks on Rayhan, at a time of rising xenophobia in Malaysia, serve to fan the flames of intolerance, HRW said.

International human rights protections normally apply to non-nationals as well as citizens, including the rights to freedom of expression and due process.

The arrest of Rayhan and investigation of Al Jazeera are part of a larger crackdown on freedom of expression and media freedom in the country, with numerous journalists, civil society activists, and ordinary citizens facing investigation and prosecution for speech critical of the government.

"Speaking to the media about the treatment of migrant workers is not a crime, nor is reporting on such abuses," Robertson said.

"The Malaysian government should release Kabir and engage with the criticism to improve respect for human rights in the country."

Human Rights Watch has called for Bangladesh government to allow a visit by the UN to Bhashan Char before any Rohingya relocation.

In a statement today, it said the government has reneged on repeated promises to await clearance from UN agencies and independent technical experts on emergency preparedness, habitability, and safety of the island before relocating Rohingya refugees.

"Any decision to relocate Rohingya to Bhashan Char, after the completion of technical assessments, needs to be voluntary and fully informed," said HRW, New York-based global rights watchdog.

A government committee formed in late September to manage the relocation of refugees to Bhashan Char appears to be the latest effort to push through a relocation process in breach of basic rights protections and despite repeated concerns raised by the UN and humanitarian experts, it said.

The statement comes weeks after a group of Rohingyas, including community leaders, were taken on a visit to the island where the government has built 120 cluster villages on the 40sqkm island under a Tk 2,312-crore housing project for one lakh out of the nearly 10 lakh Rohingyas sheltered in cramped camps in Cox's Bazar.

The purpose of the "go and see visit" arranged by the government was to allow the Rohingyas to see for themselves the facilities. Officials say the houses have been built four feet above the ground with concrete blocks and are protected by a 13km-long flood embankment.

There are 120 cyclone shelters planned to be used as schools, medical centres and community centres. The officials say Rohingyas also could be involved in productive activities.

Some 300 Rohingyas who were rescued from the sea early this year were sheltered at Bhashan Char. HRW said Bangladesh authorities beat refugees protesting their "detention" on Bhashan char in retribution for their hunger strike beginning on September 21, 2020 demanding reunification with their families in the Cox's Bazar refugee camps.

"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was rightly celebrated for welcoming refugees from Myanmar, but her government is now holding desperate men, women, and children on Bhashan Char," said Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW.

"If UN experts find the island to be safe and habitable, and refugees' rights are respected, then people may freely choose to relocate there. But beating people up for seeking to reunite with their families is completely unacceptable," he said.

With two international courts now examining the atrocities committed against the Rohingyas in Myanmar, the wheels of international justice are finally turning, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2020.

The Myanmar government faced increasing pressure last year for international justice for its human rights violations against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, HRW said in the report published yesterday.

Respect for free expression and assembly also declined sharply during the year as the authorities escalated their use of repressive criminal laws, it said.

"Myanmar's failure to hold its military accountable for atrocities against the Rohingya is finally turning the wheels of international justice," said Phil Robertson, HRW Asia deputy director.

"Two international courts are now examining whether Myanmar committed genocide and who should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity against the Rohingya," he said.

In the 652-page World Report 2020, its 30th edition, the global rights body reviewed human rights practices in nearly 100 countries.

In his introductory essay, HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth also said that the Chinese government, which depends on repression to stay in power, is carrying out the most intense attack on the global human rights system in decades.

Beijing's actions both encourage and gain support from autocratic populists around the globe, while Chinese authorities use their economic clout to deter criticism from other governments, he said, stressing that it is urgent to resist this assault, which threatens decades of progress on human rights and our future.

Myanmar appeared before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 10-12 in 2019 to respond to a complaint filed by Gambia for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention. Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi rejected the genocide allegations, claiming that there was no orchestrated campaign of persecution despite considerable evidence of military atrocities against the Rohingyas.

Earlier in November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorised the ICC prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes against humanity, namely deportation, other inhumane acts, and persecution against Rohingyas in Myanmar since October 2016.

The court had already confirmed its jurisdiction over the crime of deportation and other related crimes, which it ruled was completed in Bangladesh, an ICC state party.

Almost one million Rohingyas are living in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing the Myanmar military's ethnic cleansing campaign that began in August 2017. The estimated 600,000 Rohingyas still remaining in Myanmar live in dire conditions, subjected to government persecution, violence, extreme restrictions on movement, and deprivation of food and health care, HRW mentioned in the report.

Armed conflict between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups intensified in 2019 in Shan, Kachin, and Rakhine States. In Rakhine State, the government ordered an internet blackout, which began on June 21 and included four townships affected by intensified fighting between the military and the ethnic Rakhine armed group, the Arakan Army. Civilians in embattled areas were increasingly endangered by severe aid blockages, indiscriminate artillery attacks, and forced displacement, according to the HRW report.

The United Nations-backed Fact-Finding Mission ended its work in September, handing over evidence of serious crimes by Myanmar's military against the Rohingya, Kachin, Shan, and Karen ethnic minorities to the newly operational Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), to continue collecting evidence.

Freedom of expression and the media remained under dire threat in Myanmar in 2019, HRW observed in its report.

While Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were released from prison in May on a presidential amnesty after serving over 700 days in pretrial detention and prison, however, more than 250 people faced criminal lawsuits in 2019 under various laws restricting freedom of expression.

Protesters were often targeted under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, which requires prior approval for an event, the rights body mentioned.

Farmers across the country also faced difficulties with rights-repressing laws. In March, the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law came into effect, requiring anyone occupying land classified as "vacant, fallow, or virgin" to apply for permits, with prison terms for failure to comply, according to the HRW report.

"Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy government promised to overturn repressive laws enacted during military rule. Instead they are using those laws to attack their critics and have even introduced new repressive legislation," Robertson said.