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.