Malaysia More ISA Arrests
Geneva, 03 July 2009. Only one week after its joint press release on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, calling upon the Government of Malaysia, among others, to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) and release the remaining ISA detainees, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has been informed by its member organisation in Malaysia, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), that three individuals have allegedly been arrested under ISA.
According to the information received, Mr. Sulaiman Bin Bukhari, Mr. Latif Bin Omar and Samsudin (full name could not be obtained) were arrested under ISA on 25 June 2009 at Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru, allegedly for being members of Jemaah Islamiyaah (JI). No further information is currently available on the circumstances of their arrest and their current conditions of detention.
OMCT is all the more concerned about this information since the Government of Malaysia has started discussions about reviewing ISA and has already released 31 ISA detainees from Kamunting detention centre camp.
OMCT recalls that ISA was originally enacted in 1960 to succeed emergency laws aimed at combating the communist insurgency during the 1940s and 1950s. The law, which allows for arrest without warrant and indefinite detention without trial, violates internationally recognised human rights standards, and has been used against people peacefully expressing their religious and political beliefs. Under ISA, individuals are deprived of many of their fundamental human rights, such as their right to a fair and public trial, the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law, and their right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
In light of this, OMCT calls upon the competent Malaysian authorities to guarantee at all times the physical and psychological integrity of the three abovementioned individuals and order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, and if such charges exist, to ensure that they are given a prompt and fair trial, in which their procedural rights are guaranteed at all times.
OMCT further reiterates its call on the Malaysian Government to act beyond “a comprehensive study to review ISA” and repeal the act as well as release the remaining individuals detained under ISA.
Contact:
OMCT: Alexandra Kossin: Tel. +41 22 809 49 39, Email: omct@omct.org