Malaysia
30.01.04
Urgent Interventions
Malaysia: arrest and risk of corporal punishment or deportation of forty Acehnese asylum seekers
Case MYS 300104
Mass arrests / Corporal punishment / Risk of deportation / Risk to personal integrity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Malaysia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed of the arrest and risk of corporal punishment or deportation of forty Acehnese asylum seekers by the Malaysian Police in Kampung Sungai Nibong, Penang. If these persons are sent back to Aceh, a Province of Indonesia that is currently the scene of an armed conflict, they risk being subjected to arrest and ill-treatment, torture or even extra-judicial execution. OMCT recalls that there have been at least 2’000 persons killed as a result of the ongoing conflict since May 19th, 2003, when martial law was declared in the Province of Aceh, and sources report that asylum seekers that are sent back face significant risks to their personal integrity.
According to the information received, forty individuals were arrested on January 25th, 2004 during a raid in a migrant community shelter in Kampung Sungai Nibong, Penang. The police raided several village houses and one flat, resulting in a total of sixty-one arrests.
The arrests included fifty-three men and eight women, at least forty of whom were Achenese asylum seekers, including three women. The male detainees have reportedly been held at the Balai Polis Bayan Lepas “lock-up” on the island of Penang, and they include: Sofyan Jalil (30), Muhammad Yusuf (35), Yunus (45), Darmadi (44), Abdullah (32), Kamaruddin (35), Ilyas, Marzuki, Safwadi, Dek Gam (18), Maskur, Andri Usman (20) Jal, Azmi (36), Salim, Muhammad Ali, Tarmizi Husain (24), Azhari (23), Mawardi (28), Asri (28), Fikran (23), Nazar (32), Fuadi (28), Mawardi (34), Hanafiah (24), Muhammad, Muji (28), and Fitra (24). The female detainees have been detained at at Balai Polis Balik Pulau “lock-up,” also on the island of Penang, and they include: Syarifah (30), Khalidah (25), and Nurul (25). Additional names are still in the process of being collected. None of the detainees were registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
The forty individuals are reportedly in great danger of being deported back to Aceh, Indonesia, where they face grave risks to their personal integrity. While in Malaysia, they also risk being charged under the Immigration act of 1967, which could see them sentenced to five months imprisonment and flogging.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is therefore gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the 61 persons that were arrested, notably the 40 Acehnese asylum seekers, and calls on the Malaysian Government to guarantee their integrity at all times, including: ensuring that they are not subjected to flogging and are not deported to Indonesia, particularly Aceh, where they face grave risks to their personal integrity.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Malaysia urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the Acehnese persons who were arrested and detained during the raid in Kampung Sungai Nibong, Penang on January 25th, 2004, including guarantees that they will not be subjected to flogging or to deportation to Indonesia, including Aceh;
ii. guarantee that their asylum applications are dealt with in a prompt and impartial manner and that they receive adequate access to the UNHCR;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister & Minister of Home Affairs, Dato' Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi Ministry of Home Affairs (Menteri Dalam Negeri), Aras 13, Blok D1, Parcel D, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, 65202 Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia, Fax: + 60 3 8886 8014, E-mail: ppm@smpke.jpm.my
· Inspector General of Police, Datuk Seri Mohamed Bakri Omar, Ketua Polis Negara, Ibupejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia, Bukit Aman, 50502 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Fax: + 60 3 2273 1326 (please note this number is not always available)
· Ambassadeur Hussain Rajmah, ICC-1er/ H, Pré-Bois 20, CP 1834, CH-1215, Genève 15, Suisse, E-mail : mwgeneva@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 710 75 01
Please also write to the embassies of Malaysia in your respective country.
Geneva, January 30th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Mass arrests / Corporal punishment / Risk of deportation / Risk to personal integrity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Malaysia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed of the arrest and risk of corporal punishment or deportation of forty Acehnese asylum seekers by the Malaysian Police in Kampung Sungai Nibong, Penang. If these persons are sent back to Aceh, a Province of Indonesia that is currently the scene of an armed conflict, they risk being subjected to arrest and ill-treatment, torture or even extra-judicial execution. OMCT recalls that there have been at least 2’000 persons killed as a result of the ongoing conflict since May 19th, 2003, when martial law was declared in the Province of Aceh, and sources report that asylum seekers that are sent back face significant risks to their personal integrity.
According to the information received, forty individuals were arrested on January 25th, 2004 during a raid in a migrant community shelter in Kampung Sungai Nibong, Penang. The police raided several village houses and one flat, resulting in a total of sixty-one arrests.
The arrests included fifty-three men and eight women, at least forty of whom were Achenese asylum seekers, including three women. The male detainees have reportedly been held at the Balai Polis Bayan Lepas “lock-up” on the island of Penang, and they include: Sofyan Jalil (30), Muhammad Yusuf (35), Yunus (45), Darmadi (44), Abdullah (32), Kamaruddin (35), Ilyas, Marzuki, Safwadi, Dek Gam (18), Maskur, Andri Usman (20) Jal, Azmi (36), Salim, Muhammad Ali, Tarmizi Husain (24), Azhari (23), Mawardi (28), Asri (28), Fikran (23), Nazar (32), Fuadi (28), Mawardi (34), Hanafiah (24), Muhammad, Muji (28), and Fitra (24). The female detainees have been detained at at Balai Polis Balik Pulau “lock-up,” also on the island of Penang, and they include: Syarifah (30), Khalidah (25), and Nurul (25). Additional names are still in the process of being collected. None of the detainees were registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
The forty individuals are reportedly in great danger of being deported back to Aceh, Indonesia, where they face grave risks to their personal integrity. While in Malaysia, they also risk being charged under the Immigration act of 1967, which could see them sentenced to five months imprisonment and flogging.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is therefore gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the 61 persons that were arrested, notably the 40 Acehnese asylum seekers, and calls on the Malaysian Government to guarantee their integrity at all times, including: ensuring that they are not subjected to flogging and are not deported to Indonesia, particularly Aceh, where they face grave risks to their personal integrity.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Malaysia urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the Acehnese persons who were arrested and detained during the raid in Kampung Sungai Nibong, Penang on January 25th, 2004, including guarantees that they will not be subjected to flogging or to deportation to Indonesia, including Aceh;
ii. guarantee that their asylum applications are dealt with in a prompt and impartial manner and that they receive adequate access to the UNHCR;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Prime Minister & Minister of Home Affairs, Dato' Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi Ministry of Home Affairs (Menteri Dalam Negeri), Aras 13, Blok D1, Parcel D, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, 65202 Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia, Fax: + 60 3 8886 8014, E-mail: ppm@smpke.jpm.my
· Inspector General of Police, Datuk Seri Mohamed Bakri Omar, Ketua Polis Negara, Ibupejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia, Bukit Aman, 50502 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Fax: + 60 3 2273 1326 (please note this number is not always available)
· Ambassadeur Hussain Rajmah, ICC-1er/ H, Pré-Bois 20, CP 1834, CH-1215, Genève 15, Suisse, E-mail : mwgeneva@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 710 75 01
Please also write to the embassies of Malaysia in your respective country.
Geneva, January 30th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.