Activists protest detentions

Activists protest detentions

MALAYSIA: Five Malaysian opposition activists accused of conspiring against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government began fasting in a prison camp on Monday to protest their detention without trial since April, relatives said.

The activists, mostly senior officials of the National Justice Party, were demanding their immediate release from Kamunting camp, about 250 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur, said Bahirah Tajul Aris, the wife of detainee Ezam Mohamad Noor.

The fasting comes three days after the Justice Party's figurehead, jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, ended a similar hunger strike after one week.

Anwar began his fast to protest a court's deferment of his appeal against a corruption conviction. The fast ended Saturday after the court set Feb. 4 for the hearing. --AP