Dear Friends
Press Release 13 May 2003
Alleged Assault on ISA Detainees in Kamunting Detention Centre – Malaysia
The alleged assault on Tian Chua and Hishamuddin Rais by security guards in the Kamunting Detention Centre last Friday requires urgent and immediate independent inquiry. Custodial assaults of detainees by security officers are matters of grave concern. There should not be a repetition of what happened when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was brutally assaulted by the then Inspector General of Police while in custody, blindfolded and handcuffed, and the resultant initial cover-ups.
Further, the continued detention of the six detained under the ISA despite the decision of the Federal Court on September 6, 2002; the call by SUHAKAM on September 17, 2002 for review of the orders on the six by the competent authorities, and the subsequent recommendation by the Advisory Board for their release, is also a matter of grave concern.
Detentions without trial offend the first principle of the rule of law. But the continued detention of the six in the light of these circumstances offends the very notion of justice and good conscience of a democratic State.
Further, these continued detentions are a violation of international law because they deny the detainees the due process of the law. Malaysia was heard nationally and internationally criticizing the United States, quite rightly, for violating international law over its aggression of Iraq. Yet it is not seen prepared to comply with international law domestically in the dispensation of justice to its own citizens.
I urge the Government to release the six detainees unconditionally and repeal the Internal Security Act, as called for by SUHAKAM.
Dato¡¯ Param Cumaraswamy
UN Special Rapporteur on the
Independence of Judges and Lawyers
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Write letters of support to:
| Prime Minister |
Prime Minister
Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
Prime Minister’s Office, Federal Government Administration Center, 62502 Putrajaya
Email: ppm@smpke.jpm.my |
| Minister of Home Affairs/Deputy Prime Minister |
Minister of Home Affairs/Deputy Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Aras 13, Blok D1, Parcel D, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
65202 Putrajaya, Selagor
Tel: 603 8888 1952
Fax: + 603 8886 8014
E-mail: tpm@smpke.jpm.my |
| Chief Justice |
Chief Justice of Malaysia
Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah
Federal Court of Malaysia, Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad,
Jalan Raja 50506, Kulala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2939011 |
| Inspector General of Police |
Inspector General of Police
Tan Sri Norian Mai
Headquarters of Royal Police of Malaysia, Bukit Aman, 50560 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2273 1326
Fax: +603 2272 2710 |
| Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) |
29th Floor, Menara Tun Razak
Jalan Raja Laut
50350 Kuala Lumpur
MalaysiaTel: +603 2612 5600
Fax: +603 2612 5620
E-mail: humanrights@suhakam.org.my
Website: www.suhakam.org.my |
Thank you.
PAMELA APPS
Urgent Appeals
Asian Human Rights Commission
