Malaysia's government on Sunday deported a young Saudi newspaper columnist who had been accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad on Twitter, disappointing human rights advocates who said they feared for the journalist's life if he returned to Saudi Arabia.
The fate of the Jeddah-based writer Hamza Kashgari had been up in the air since he was detained Thursday in Kuala Lumpur.
He fled to the Malaysian city after Saudi Arabian religious conservatives criticized the 23-year-old for tweeting a series of musings about an imagined meeting with the founder of Islam. Campaigns in Saudi Arabia on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook drew thousands of comments demanding Mr. Kashgari's execution, with some tweets including fatwas, or religious rulings, calling for Mr. Kashgari's death despite his tweeted apologies.
International human rights groups responded by calling on Malaysian authorities to release Mr. Kashgari immediately. Amnesty International called Mr. Kashgari a "prisoner of conscience," while Human Rights Watch said Malaysia's government should allow the young columnist to take refuge in the country of his choice, and "not be complicit in sealing Kashgari's fate by sending him back."
In a brief statement issued Sunday, Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia had a "long-standing arrangement by which individuals wanted by one country are extradited when detained by the other," and that Mr. Kashgari would be repatriated under that arrangement.
"The nature of the charges against the individual in this case are a matter for the Saudi Arabian authorities," he added.
A Malaysian police spokesman confirmed Mr. Kashgari was handed over to Saudi officials on Sunday morning to be flown back. A lawyer for Mr. Kashgari said his legal team had obtained an interim court order challenging the journalist's detention Sunday afternoon, but it was too late as he had already been sent home.
It wasn't immediately possible to reach Saudi authorities for comment. The Saudi government last week announced that Mr. Kashgari had been banned from writing for publication and would be subject to legal action.
Although Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim nation, its leaders have taken pains to present the country as a moderate, progressive nation open to Western investment and ideas. But it also has worked hard to maintain good relations with more-conservative Muslim countries as it tries to burnish its credentials as a global center of Islamic finance and tourism for visitors from Middle Eastern countries.
Mr. Kashgari left the Saudi kingdom last week because he feared for his safety, associates have said. A person familiar with his movements said he arrived safely in Malaysia and headed for a hotel, but was advised by friends that it wouldn't be wise to remain in the country. Arrangements were later made to fly him to New Zealand, this person said, but he was detained when he returned to the airport.
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