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A Malaysian transgender woman who has been charged with insulting Islam in her country has been arrested in Thailand for having an invalid passport, the Bangkok Post reported.
Reportedly arrested at a condominium
According to Malaysian media Harian Metro, comestics entrepreneur Nur Sajat was arrested on Sep. 8, at a luxury condominium in Bangkok, along with a Thai transgender, after the Thai police received information from Malaysian authorities.
However, the Bangkok Post reported that she had been arrested along with a man and a woman at the condominium.
She was then charged with immigration offences, including illegal entry, and was reportedly released on a bail of 66,000 baht (S$2,700) and told to report to immigration officers every two weeks.
Reportedly unable to return to Malaysia over death threats
Harian Metro further quoted a source which claimed that Nur Sajat had said that she was unable to return to Malaysia due to death threats that she received after allegedly announcing that she wanted to leave Islam.
In addition, she is wanted by Malaysian authorities for failing to appear at a hearing in the Syariah High Court in February earlier this year, on charges of insulting Islam by dressing up as a woman during a religious event at her beauty centre in 2018.
A Malaysian police officer, Abdul Jalil Hassan, said that efforts were being made to bring back Nur Sajat back to the country, and that her full name was Muhammad Sajjad Kamaruz Zaman.
Appealing to move to Australia as a refugee
Harian Metro further reported that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had received an application from Nur Sajat for classification as a refugee, as well as for resettlement in Australia.
The application was supposedly made when Nur Sajat discovered at an immigration check that her passport had been cancelled by the Malaysian government.
The UN is now apparently looking at securing approval for her resettlement in Australia.
However, according to the Bangkok Post, Thai police have stated that Nur Sajat has yet to submit an application for political asylum.
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Top collage via NurSajat24 Instagram