The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday requested the Malaysian government immediately release Syrian refugee Hassan al Kontar, who was arrested on Monday after being stranded in the budget terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport for nearly seven months.

Kontar, who is reportedly sought by Syrian authorities for failing to serve in the military, was taken into custody and removed from the airport by the Malaysian police after his social media posts – which were garnering growing media attention – were deemed embarrassing for Malaysia, local media quoted Malaysian immigration chief Mustafar Ali as saying.

"His statements on social media shamed Malaysia," Ali was cited as saying by Malaysia's official news agency Bernama. "[He] was arrested because he was in a restricted area without a boarding pass." Officials will now work with the Syrian authorities to get him deported to his homeland, Ali said.

Malaysian daily The Sun reported that UNHCR has urged Malaysia to respect international laws relating to Kontar's situation, in particular, the principle of non-refoulement which prohibits forcible deportation of refugees and asylum seekers to a country where his life or freedom would be threatened.

"The UNHCR has not had access to him yet and is unable to provide any further information on his current situation," UNHCR Associate External Relations Officer Yante Ismail told The Sun in a statement.

"Hassan al Kontar is registered with UNHCR as a person of concern and, as such, is in need of international protection".

Kontar arrived in Malaysia in October 2017 after being deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he had been working in the insurance sector since 2006, having left Syria to avoid the mandatory conscription service in the military.

Kontar overstayed a three-month tourist visa in Malaysia and is now blacklisted, which prevents him from re-entering Kuala Lumpur. He doesn't want to return to his war-ravaged home country fearing retribution.

The 36-year-old Syrian man was stuck at the terminal on March 7, when he flew to Cambodia but was denied entry before being sent back to Kuala Lumpur airport. Earlier in February, Turkish airline officials refused to let him board a flight to Ecuador.

Social media celebrity

During his months-long confinement in the airport, Kontar became a social media celebrity of sorts for his witty and humorous messages on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube which ranged from posting his daily struggles to raising serious issues related to the subject of refugees and immigration.

He made headlines in June when he applied to US space agency NASA for immigration into Mars after being refused asylum by several countries. The bearded Syrian has reportedly received marriage proposals from around the world on the social media.

"Hey Handsome, could we marry at this airport? If yes, I will be there before the winter! My proposal is serious," Facebook user Leeloo Rie wrote.

Articulate with his words, Kontar has educated himself on international human rights law and matters related to refugees and asylum during his long confinement at the airport. Expressing his dejection about the way UNHCR has handled his case, Kontar has gone on record saying he has been failed by the UN body that was set up to help refugees and displaced people like him.

In an interview to Vice in August, Kontar claimed that, after the initial media storm, the agency offered him a one-month special pass for Malaysia, even after being blacklisted from the country for overstaying his previous visa.

For Kontar, however, this was not an adequate solution, as Malaysia is not a signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention. "They (UNHCR) are not in contact with me for almost 12 weeks, yet they are claiming they gave me so many options. They did not," said Kontar.

UNHCR disputed Kontar's claims, saying in a statement, that "both UNHCR and the Government of Malaysia have reached out to this individual on a number of occasions. He has been offered reasonable support and assistance to enter Malaysia, which would then allow UNHCR and others to consider his situation in more detail and to explore possible solutions for him."

"Clear offers of support and assistance in Malaysia have been communicated to the individual, and so far he has chosen to not accept. It appears that Malaysia is a place of transit for him and not a place where he wishes to remain. We understand that he is considering his options," it added.

Kontar refuted the UNHCR's statement in a tweet on September 1: "I am not getting help from @UNHCR as they claimed. I am not on country shopping as UNHCR claimed. I am not rejecting slightly suitable offers from UNHCR as they claimed. Malaysia was not a transit stop for me as UNHCR claimed."

Kontar now hopes that a group of Canadian volunteers, who have petitioned their government to allow him to enter the country as a refugee and raised over 17,000 Canadian dollars (13,136 US dollars) to sponsor him, will prove successful. However, there are no guarantees, and it can take up to 26 months to process an application.

"One day your heart will take you to your Lover. One day your soul will carry you to the Beloved. Don't get lost in your pain, know that one day your pain will become your cure," he said in a touching post on August 23.

Kontar's case is reminiscent of Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived in the departure lounge of Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for 18 years from August 1988 to July 2006. Nasseri's predicament became the inspiration for the much-acclaimed 2004 Steven Spielberg movie "The Terminal", which had Tom Hanks playing the lead.

(Cover: Syrian refugee Hassan al Kontar overstayed a three-month tourist visa in Malaysia and is now blacklisted, which prevents him from re-entering Kuala Lumpur. /Photo via Twitter @Kontar81)