A Syrian man who has been stuck at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2) since March 7, 2018 has been arrested by Malaysian authorities as of Oct. 1.

According to Malaysian news outlet The Malay Mail, Hassan al-Kontar had been arrested for being in a restricted airport area without a boarding pass.

A "national embarrassment" to be deported

Speaking at a press conference on Oct. 2, Malaysian Immigration Department police chief Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali stated:

“We will take over the case once the police investigation has concluded, and will work with the Syrian embassy to enable him to either be sent back or out of Malaysia after this."

Mustafar further stressed that the matter would be resolved quickly as Hassan had been a constant source of embarrassment and humiliation for the country.

"We will resolve this issue with the embassy as soon as possible, as this case needs to be wrapped up since it is a national embarrassment. Whatever the excuse, we will not compromise and ensure this is dealt with by having him deported from the country".

Featured on Nas Daily

The Star reports that Hassan had posted multiple videos of his life stuck in transit, which attracted the attention of international media and human rights groups.

At one point, Hassan was even the central feature of a video by vlogger Nuseir Yassin, a.k.a. Nas Daily, which focused mainly on his reasons for fleeing Syria, along with his life in the airport.

Nuseir also makes mention of a group of Canadian volunteers who are supposedly attempting to get him refugee status in Canada.

Such highlights do not seem to have gone down well with the Malaysian authorities, however.

As Mustafa further added:

“He had to return here [from Cambodia], and since then posted various statements on social media which humiliated our country".

How did he end up in Malaysia?

Formerly an insurance salesman, Hassan had been working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, according to the BBC.

As Hassan had not completed military service at home, he was unable to renew his passport, but as he feared being arrested or made to join the military, he did not return either.

As such, he continued staying on illegally in the UAE until he was arrested in 2016.

In 2017, Hassan was subsequently deported from the UAE to Malaysia, one of the few countries that allows entry to Syrians without a visa.

Speaking to Reuters, he gave this reason for his refusal to leave:

“I am afraid of being deported to Syria, not because I’m a coward, not because I don’t know how to fight, but because I don’t believe in fighting... I don’t want to be a killing machine, destroying my own home and harming my own people.”

Attempted to find asylum in Ecuador and Cambodia

Malaysia was not Hassan's destination of choice.

He subsequently attempted to reach other countries to apply for asylum.

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Initially, Hassan booked a ticket with Turkish Airlines for Ecuador, but was rejected from boarding by the airlines on Feb. 28, 2018.

Next, Hassan flew to Cambodia but was refused entry and deported back to Malaysia.

By this time, the three-month visa-free entry that he had been granted by Malaysia had expired, which resulted in his stranding within the terminal of KLIA2 from March 7 to Oct. 1.

Channel NewsAsia reported that Hassan survived on donated airline meals and washed up in the toilets of the airport.

Top image from Hassan al-Kontar Facebook