Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said today the hitman Sirul Azhar Umar will only be sent back if Putrajaya opts to drop his death sentence.
Sirul and a fellow bodyguard, Azila Hadri, were charged with the murder and sentenced to death in 2009 but Sirul has denied carrying out the killing.
Mahathir, who said he was not aware of The Guardian’s article on Sirul getting extradited to Malaysia, said Sirul is not coming back unless his death sentence is dropped.
“Australia will not send him back because he will be hanged if he comes here. But we might drop the death sentence to clear the way for him to be back to the country,” said the PM at a press conference.
Mahathir also said Sirul may not come back to Kuala Lumpur since he said he feared for his life.
The Australian authorities said Sirul will be extradited to Malaysia within a month time after they agreed to Malaysia’s request to have him back, the Guardian revealed.
Malaysian hitman who escaped to Australia only to find himself in jail in 2014 lost his plea against the extradition.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://www.teebpost.com/mahathir-sirul-to-be-sent-back-to-kl-if-malaysia-drops-death-sentence/