Inquiry call over treatment of Acehnese

Inquiry call over treatment of Acehnese

MALAYSIA: Amnesty International on Monday called for an
investigation into reports that camp guards at a Malaysian
detention center beat up seven Acehnese asylum seekers for
refusing to be repatriated.

The seven, including a woman whose 13-month-old child was also
held at the Langkap Detention Center, were "at risk of being
forcibly returned" to the troubled Indonesian province where they
may face serious human rights violations, the group said in a
statement.

The detainees were believed to be among a group of more than
200 Acehnese asylum seekers arrested by police outside the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur in
August while waiting to lodge asylum claims, it said.

The declaration of martial law in Aceh in May had led to
renewed military operations against separatist rebels and alleged
cases of extrajudicial executions, "disappearances" and torture,
the human rights group said. -- AFP