Rights group says ISA a 'recipe for abuse'

Rights group says ISA a 'recipe for abuse'

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Detainees in Malaysia have been beaten and humiliated under a
notorious security law which is a "recipe for abuse", Human
Rights Watch said in a new report on Wednesday.

The New York-based rights group compiled accounts of the abuse
in December 2004 of more than 25 people being held under the
harsh Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite
detention without trial.

"Those held under the ISA are defined as a group that has
virtually no rights, so it is hardly surprising that prison
guards treat them as less than human," said Brad Adams, executive
director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

"Malaysia's Internal Security Act, which gives the government
unchecked powers to detain individuals for long periods without
charge, is a recipe for abuse," the group said.

Mohamad Faiq Hafidh, who has been held since January 2002,
said he had been continuously beaten at Malaysia's infamous
Kamunting prison over two days in December.

"I was handcuffed ... and my head was pushed down to waist
level. My head was struck with a baton and my eye was hit,
injuring it," he said in the statement.

"When I reached room seven (of the cell block), I was
continuously beaten and then forced to strip naked, ordered to
crawl while entering the room and then my buttocks were kicked
and that was how I stumbled inside, naked," he said.

Marking the 45th year the ISA has been in operation, former
detainees said in August that they were routinely tortured during
interrogations, stripped naked, beaten with broomsticks and
threatened with rape.

Pressure group Abolish ISA Movement said some detainees had
their heads bashed against the wall, needles stuck in their
fingernails and nails inserted into their genitals. Some were
forced to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and made to
drink urine, it said.

Human Rights Watch said no prison officials have been
disciplined following the revelations and that the government
denied its requests for an interview or to visit Kamunting.

"Malaysia's policy amounts to the executive branch presuming
the guilt of people without charge or trial," Adams said in a
statement.

The United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which has ruled
Malaysia for nearly half a century has misused the ISA "to
silence critics", resulting in the detention of more than 10,000
people since 1960, he said.

"Malaysia should end its use of ISA detention and rely on its
robust criminal law and capable judiciary to tackle security and
other alleged crimes," Adams said.

"Malaysia aspires to be a leader in the region and a developed
country by 2020. The ISA is not a sign of leadership or
development -- it is a sign of repression," he said urging the
government to set up an independent inquiry into the allegations
of abuse.

The ISA allows for two-year detention periods without trial,
which can be renewed indefinitely.

Malaysia is currently holding over 100 people in detention
under the act, more than 80 of whom are described as suspected
Islamic militants.