KL rights group worried for detainees
KL rights group worried for detainees
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): A Malaysian rights group said Friday there were growing fears for the safety of 10 opposition activists detained by police under a controversial security law.
The Aliran group accused police of defying parliament by refusing to let the official human rights commission exercise its legal right to visit the activists.
The 10 supporters of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and police chief Norian Mai say Anwar's supporters planned to use explosives and weapons in street demonstrations to topple the government. No evidence has so far been made public.
Seven of the 10 have been held since April 11. All of them have been denied visits from families and lawyers.
"No one knows if these detainees have been brutalized. Nobody has seen them to confirm that they are well," Aliran said in a statement. "We fully empathize with the detainees' family members, friends and relatives who fear for their safety."
The latest detainee, Badaruddin Ismail, was arrested on Thursday. He is a secretariat member of the Suaram human rights group and contributes to a website which supports Anwar's reformasi (reform) movement.
Aliran said the officially appointed Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, known by its Malay acronym of Suhakam, should be allowed access to detainees in accordance with the law which founded it. "Any delay in granting Suhakam commissioners access to the detainees is an affront to the authority of parliament," it said.
Parliament itself should not tolerate the "impertinent behavior" of the police, Aliran added.
It said police indifference toward Suhakam's request to visit the detainees created "grave doubts regarding the safety and well-being of the detainees."
A delegation of parliamentarians, led by opposition leader Fadzil Noor, visited Suhakam on Thursday to press it to seek access.
Suhakam wrote to police two weeks ago, asking to visit the detainees, but has not received a reply.
Rights commissioner Anuar Zainal Abidin told AFP on Friday they expected a reply shortly.
"There is no doubt we have the power to visit places of detention," he said.
"I hope they will let us visit. We just want to see that detainees are not being abused and are in good health."
On Wednesday a high court judge rejected a habeas corpus appeal by lawyers seeking to free five detainees, saying courts have no power to intervene.
Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given assurances that those arrested this month will not be physically ill treated.
Families say they are not convinced, pointing out that Anwar himself was badly beaten by then-police chief Rahim Noor on the night of his arrest under the ISA in September 1998.
Stepping up pressure on Anwar, the Malaysian government said on Friday he would be sent back to prison from hospital soon if he didn't accept treatment locally for a back problem.
Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said Anwar would no longer be allowed to consult with foreign doctors, and the "enormous special privileges" that the former deputy premier had enjoyed in hospital would end.
Anwar, who has been hospitalized since November with a slipped disc, would respond to the ultimatum early next week, his lawyer said.
"He wants to consult his lawyers and family members before making a decision," Sankara Nair told the Associated Press.
Also Friday, Sankara said a court hearing to determine whether Anwar will face trial on outstanding criminal charges had been postponed because he is too sick to attend.