KUALA LUMPUR: Syrian Hassan Al-Kontar, 37 has been granted asylum in Canada and he was finally able to fly and leave Malaysia yesterday.
Syrian Hassan Al-Kontar, 37, had been stranded in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) in Sepang for the past seven months.
Reports said he has spent the last two months in a Malaysian detention centre and his Canadian sponsors sought to have his case expedited.
His ticket to Canada was sponsored by two organisations, the British Columbia Muslim Association and Canada Caring Society, the BBC reported.
“Tomorrow, I will be reaching my final destination: Vancouver, Canada,” said Al-Kontar in a video posted on his social media accounts during a layover in Taiwan yesterday.
“I could not do it without the help of my family — my Canadian friends and family and my lawyer. Thank you all. I love you all,” he said.
Canada Caring Society said people from around the world helped raise the funds to bring Al-Kontar to Canada after an online petition launched by the Canadian Caring Society asking Canada’s immigration minister to allow him entry garnered over 62,000 signatures.
