Why did Canada refuse entry to Murad?

Canada does not allow immigration of an individual if he or she seems to be a threat to Canadian citizens or national security, said immigration lawyers, attributing the reason to the country's entry refusal to disgraced state minister Murad Hasan.

"Canada is such a country whose government and top officials give security the topmost priority," Ajmalul Hossain QC, prominent immigration law expert, told The Business Standard.

With misogynistic and obnoxious remarks on women, the lawyer said Murad Hassan had grabbed the headlines of both local and foreign media, which eventually led him to return home after his failed attempt to enter Canada.

"The allegations against him are so grievous that the immigration refusal seems appropriate to me," he noted.

Murad Hassan, who left Bangladesh on 9 December after being sacked as a state minister for obscene comments and rape threats, returned home 12 December after his failed bid to enter Canada. Then Murad, according to media reports, tried to enter Dubai, which also followed the same suit.

Ajmalul Hossain said there are many instances where even a Canadian citizen, who committed offenses abroad, was denied entry to the country.

Referring to a 2016-incident, the legal expert said a Canadian citizen was accused of committing violence against a woman in a South African country. He later fled from the African country and tried to enter Canada. But the immigration police did not allow him. Rather the Canadian citizen was deported to that African soil for a trail.

ML Gani, a Bangladeshi expatriate living in Canada and also the owner of an immigration consultancy firm there, said, "The way the former state minister was heard threatening an actress in a leaked phone conversation, he can be treated as dangerous to a Canadian citizen as he is to the artist.

"Besides, his derogatory remarks about women as mentioned by the local media are also dangerous enough for his disqualification."

Immigration law expert Shah Mohammad Ahsanur Rahman told TBS there has been no official confirmation of whether Murad applied for a visa for Dubai. But, if someone with a diplomatic passport applies for a visa in Dubai, the authorities are likely to accept it easily.

He said people of the former state minister's level usually have multiple visas that allow entry to several countries anytime. Murad earlier visited Dubai multiple times.

But since he was not allowed to enter this time, the Dubai authorities must have a solid ground.

According to multiple sources, Murad last visited Canada and Dubai in September this year.  

 A blow on the country's image too

Lawyers and human rights experts said Murad's failed attempt to enter Canada has tarnished the country's image too.

Barrister Sara Hossain, a noted human rights lawyer, told TBS, "In terms of the country's image, immigration refusal to a former state minister on security issues is bad news for Bangladesh".  

"But what is more important is that Bangladesh has not taken any action against him for the misogynistic comments and threats. I think this is an insult to our country and a bad message to the outside world," she noted.

Ajmalul Hossain QC too said entry refusal to Murad is not a good signal for Bangladesh. The matter will remain as a bad instance in diplomacy and geopolitics.

Rights activist Nur Khan Liton said the incident is quite embarrassing for Bangladesh and it may raise further issues about the government and its diplomats.

"Now the government should take appropriate legal action against such an unscrupulous politician, letting the world know that the Bangladesh government is strict about threats to women," he added.

However, former ambassador Mohammad Zamir told TBS that Murad's failed entry bids to Canada and Dubai will not have a diplomatic impact.  

"As the allegations were brought against him, he resigned from the post on the instructions of the prime minister. As a result, the position of Bangladesh and the government is clear about it," he added.