We have a right to not extradite Zakir Naik to India, says Malaysian PM Mahathir

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday said that his country has the right not to extradite Zakir Naik to India, since Naik claims he will not get a fair trial back home, according to a media report.

Naik, a 53-year-old preacher, reportedly left India in 2016 and subsequently moved to largely Muslim Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency.

“Zakir in general feels that he is not going to get a fair trial (in India),” Mahathir was quoted as saying by The Star Online.

He compared the situation to Australia refusing to extradite former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar, who was sentenced to death in Malaysia in 2015 for killing a Mongolian model.

“We requested Australia to extradite Sirul and they are afraid we are going to send him to the gallows,” the prime minister said.

Naik was booked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2016 based on a National Investigation Agency FIR that was registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.