Abu Said Shekh was awakened in his cell at an immigration detention center in Tokyo one recent morning and told he was leaving for the airport. After nine years of seeking political asylum in Japan, he was being deported to Bangladesh.

He was among 22 overstayers, including an undisclosed number of asylum seekers, that were put on a state-chartered plane and flown back to Bangladesh on Nov. 25, the Justice Ministry said.

Now back in Dhaka, Shekh is in hiding, saying he fears for his safety on what he calls a trumped-up court indictment on charges stemming from his membership in the Awami League, then the main opposition party.