Malaysia
26.06.07
Urgent Interventions
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture - 26 June 2007 : Malaysia
Torture can never be justified under any circumstances
MALAYSIA: A CALL UPON THE AUTHORITIES TO SIGN, RATIFY AND IMPLEMENT UNCAT AND OPCAT
On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) call on the government of Malaysia to show its commitment to abolish torture and other forms of ill-treatment by signing, ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) as well as the Optional Protocol to this Convention (OPCAT).
Geneva, Kuala Lumpur, 26 June 2007 – Reports of acts of torture and ill-treatment remain widespread in Malaysia, especially against individuals detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Moreover, undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are subjected to harsh punishment upon conviction of illegal entry into the country or overstaying under the Immigration Act.
In February 2004, 31 ISA detainees who were alleged as terrorist of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) and held at the Kamunting detention camp, accused the police of applying 59 forms of mental and physical torture, among them round-the-clock interrogation depriving detainees of sleep, strip naked during interrogation, forced to urinate in a bottle, forced to drink spittle of interrogators, beard shaved and burned, ordered to make tea, massage the interrogators, threat to arrest their family members, kicked and beaten up etc.
In an on going civil suit of a detainee against the government, Malek Hussein told that he was stripped naked, kicked and beaten-up, forced fed dirty and stinking water and subjected to sexual abuse.
These cases are only tips of the iceberg. While the government denies any such acts, it remains very difficult for victims of torture to prove the acts, especially while in detention.
The ISA of 1960 originally enacted to succeed emergency laws aimed at combating the communist insurgency during the 1940s and 1950s, has since then been used against those who commit acts deemed to be “prejudicial to the security of Malaysia”, or threatening to the “maintenance of essential services” or “economic life”. The government determines which acts fall into these categories and, using a strained interpretation of the legislation, has detained scores of individuals under the ISA, among which prisoners of conscience, trade unionists, teachers, religious activist and community workers. Under the ISA, detainees are subject to an initial 60-day detention period in special police holding centres, allegedly for the purpose of investigation and no judicial order is required for such detentions.
With regard to undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, under the Immigration Act of Malaysia, all foreigners without valid travel or working documents are treated as “illegal immigrants”, irrespectively of whether they are refugees, asylum seekers or how a documented migrant worker became undocumented due to unscrupulous recruitment agencies or abusive employers. In 2002, Malaysian government further amended the Immigration Act and introduced harsh punishment on convicted undocumented persons, which included whipping up to six strokes of the rotan (cane) that leave scars forever on the buttocks of the person.
The failure of Malaysia in ratifying the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Punishment and its Optional Protocol further reveals that the culture of torture and impunity is tolerated by the government despite it being a member of the UN Human Rights Council.
OMCT and SUARAM are very much concern with regard to these continued reports and the insufficient guarantees and actions undertaken by the authorities therein. On the occasion of the 26th June, both organisations call on Malaysia to show its commitment to abolish torture and other forms of ill-treatment by signing, ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as well as the Optional Protocol to this Convention and by taking all necessary steps to guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
For inquiry, please contact:
Alexandra Kossin, Programme Manager, Urgent Campaigns Programme, World Organization Against Torture, (OMCT), 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, Geneva, Switzerland, tel: +41 22 8094939, fax: +41 22 8094929, email: ak@omct.org
Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, tel: +60 3 77843525, fax: +60 3 77843526, email: ssyap2001@yahoo.com
MALAYSIA: A CALL UPON THE AUTHORITIES TO SIGN, RATIFY AND IMPLEMENT UNCAT AND OPCAT
On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) call on the government of Malaysia to show its commitment to abolish torture and other forms of ill-treatment by signing, ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) as well as the Optional Protocol to this Convention (OPCAT).
Geneva, Kuala Lumpur, 26 June 2007 – Reports of acts of torture and ill-treatment remain widespread in Malaysia, especially against individuals detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Moreover, undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are subjected to harsh punishment upon conviction of illegal entry into the country or overstaying under the Immigration Act.
In February 2004, 31 ISA detainees who were alleged as terrorist of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) and held at the Kamunting detention camp, accused the police of applying 59 forms of mental and physical torture, among them round-the-clock interrogation depriving detainees of sleep, strip naked during interrogation, forced to urinate in a bottle, forced to drink spittle of interrogators, beard shaved and burned, ordered to make tea, massage the interrogators, threat to arrest their family members, kicked and beaten up etc.
In an on going civil suit of a detainee against the government, Malek Hussein told that he was stripped naked, kicked and beaten-up, forced fed dirty and stinking water and subjected to sexual abuse.
These cases are only tips of the iceberg. While the government denies any such acts, it remains very difficult for victims of torture to prove the acts, especially while in detention.
The ISA of 1960 originally enacted to succeed emergency laws aimed at combating the communist insurgency during the 1940s and 1950s, has since then been used against those who commit acts deemed to be “prejudicial to the security of Malaysia”, or threatening to the “maintenance of essential services” or “economic life”. The government determines which acts fall into these categories and, using a strained interpretation of the legislation, has detained scores of individuals under the ISA, among which prisoners of conscience, trade unionists, teachers, religious activist and community workers. Under the ISA, detainees are subject to an initial 60-day detention period in special police holding centres, allegedly for the purpose of investigation and no judicial order is required for such detentions.
With regard to undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, under the Immigration Act of Malaysia, all foreigners without valid travel or working documents are treated as “illegal immigrants”, irrespectively of whether they are refugees, asylum seekers or how a documented migrant worker became undocumented due to unscrupulous recruitment agencies or abusive employers. In 2002, Malaysian government further amended the Immigration Act and introduced harsh punishment on convicted undocumented persons, which included whipping up to six strokes of the rotan (cane) that leave scars forever on the buttocks of the person.
The failure of Malaysia in ratifying the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Punishment and its Optional Protocol further reveals that the culture of torture and impunity is tolerated by the government despite it being a member of the UN Human Rights Council.
OMCT and SUARAM are very much concern with regard to these continued reports and the insufficient guarantees and actions undertaken by the authorities therein. On the occasion of the 26th June, both organisations call on Malaysia to show its commitment to abolish torture and other forms of ill-treatment by signing, ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as well as the Optional Protocol to this Convention and by taking all necessary steps to guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
For inquiry, please contact:
Alexandra Kossin, Programme Manager, Urgent Campaigns Programme, World Organization Against Torture, (OMCT), 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, Geneva, Switzerland, tel: +41 22 8094939, fax: +41 22 8094929, email: ak@omct.org
Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, tel: +60 3 77843525, fax: +60 3 77843526, email: ssyap2001@yahoo.com