Malaysia
15.11.02
Urgent Interventions
Malaysia: Mr Nasaruddin Nahir rearrested.
Case MYS 170602.1
Follow-up of Case MYS 170602
Arbitrary detention/Fair trial
Geneva, November 15, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Malaysia.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by SUARAM, a member of the OMCT network, that Mr Nasaruddin Nashir, an ISA detainee, has been released on November 8, 2002, but rearrested on November 9 by the authorities in Malaysia.
According to the information received, Mr. Nasaruddin Nahir has been held along with 13 other detainees since 17 April 2002 under the Internal Security Act (ISA), accused of involvement with an Islamic terrorist group. His release was ordered by Shah Alam High Court at his Habeas Corpus hearing on November 7, following the ruling that his arrest and detention order dated June 12, 2002, issued by Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, were unlawful. In what has been called a groundbreaking decision, Justice Suriyadi Halim Omar ruled that the police had failed to provide adequate evidence showing Mr. Nasaruddin Nashir’s involvement in terrorist activities.
However, sources state that the following day Mr. Nashir was rearrested under the very same legal provisions as those of his initial arrest declared illegal by the High Court, prompting Mr. Nashir’s lawyer, Saiful Izham Ramli, to accuse the authorities of contempt of court. He is intending to file contempt proceedings against the Home Minister, the Malaysian Government and the Inspector General of Police for frustrating a High Court order.
Mr. Nahir’s family claim that the police and the prison authorities mounted a trick against them. They were reportedly told to wait for him at Kamunting bus station on 9 November, as per normal procedure, whilst the detainee was taken directly from Kamunting detention centre to the police station, where he was immediately rearrested and ordered to serve a further two-year term at the centre. The detention order, dated 8 November, was reportedly signed by the Malaysian Home Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the above mentioned detainee’s physical and psychological integrity. It is equally concerned by reports of illegal arrests and of the authorities’ evident lack of respect for judicial decisions. OMCT also urges the Malaysian authorities to reconsider the ISA as a whole, as suggested by Shah Alam High Court Judge and Justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, during recent rulings. (see Urgent Appeal Cases MYS 110401-110401.11).
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, Mr. Nasharuddin Nasir was arrested on April 17th, 2002, in Hulu Langat, Selangor when leaving work. He was escorted to his house by 15 policemen who then ransacked his family’s home. No reason was given and the police officer said they were only doing their job based on an order from the Home Ministry. His wife Norlida filed a habeas corpus application at the Shah Alam high Court on May 15th 2002. Mr. Nasir was allegedly detained unlawfully and was denied legal access throughout his detention. When Norlida visited her husband they were unable to talk about the arrest due to constant interruption be the two police officers who were present.
According to the information received, 13 more people were arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 17th and 18th April, 2002. The names of these persons are : Sejahtul Dursina Chomel Mohamad, Syed Ali Syed Abdullah, Shamsuddin Sulaiman, Mior Mohd Yuhana Hamidon, Mat Shah Sapray, Shakom Shaaid, Yusrin Haiti, Mazlan Ishak, F. Muchlis Abdul Halim Ferry, Agungdiyadi Ahmad Bunyamin, Mohd Yusof Rerwan Yunus ayam, Azmi Khan Mhamud Azmi Teksi, Jaffar Saldin Jaafar.
According to the reports, the detainees were arrested under the Internal Security Act with charges of being connected with the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM), allegedly part of a regional network aiming to overthrow South East Asian governments through violence and convert their respective countries into Islamic States. The Malaysian authorities have now arrested a total of 62 since last year. The police claim to have found maps and notes on survival training in the homes of the 14 detainees and that certain members of the KMM have undergone training in Afghanistan. The Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi described the arrests under the ISA as a “preventive measure to avoid any form of violence.
Of the 13 other persons arrested on 17 April 2002, only one has been released. Mrs. Sejahutul Dursina Chomel Mohamad, the wife of an alleged al-Quaeda operative Yazid Sufaat, filed a habeas corpus application and was released on 13 June 2002. According to information received, none of the other detainees has challenged their detention; they are believed to be at the Kamunting detention centre, and still have not been brought before a court, although they are reportedly allowed family and legal counsel visits.
According to reports, the ISA has been frequently used since its enactment in 1960 by the Malaysian authorities, in order to arrest and effectively indefinitely detain human rights and oppostition campaigners. The ISA reportedly allows the authorities to arbitrarily arrest, detain incommunicado and interrogate activists, without granting them access to legal counsel or family visits for up 60 days, and without conducting a trial for a period of up to two years. This period is however renewable by the Prime Minister, meaning that the person can effectively be detained indefinitely without a trial.
The ISA violates detainees’ rights and is supposedly used to supress the person's rights of expression and to demonstration. Detainees under the ISA are reportedly often subjected to various forms of torture, including physical assault, sleep deprivation, round-the-clock interrogation, threats of bodily harm to family members, including detainees' children, and are allegedly often used to extract false signed confessions from the detainees.
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 Mr. Nasharuddin Nasir and all above-mentioned persons;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
§ Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister's Office, Federal Government Administration Center, 62502 Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, Fax: +603 8888 3444, E-mail: ppm@smpke.jpm.my
§ Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Home Minister, Aras 13, Block D1, Parcel D, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, 652020 Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia, Fax: +603 8886 8014
Please also write to the embassies of Malaysia in your respective country.
Geneva, November 15, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case MYS 170602
Arbitrary detention/Fair trial
Geneva, November 15, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Malaysia.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by SUARAM, a member of the OMCT network, that Mr Nasaruddin Nashir, an ISA detainee, has been released on November 8, 2002, but rearrested on November 9 by the authorities in Malaysia.
According to the information received, Mr. Nasaruddin Nahir has been held along with 13 other detainees since 17 April 2002 under the Internal Security Act (ISA), accused of involvement with an Islamic terrorist group. His release was ordered by Shah Alam High Court at his Habeas Corpus hearing on November 7, following the ruling that his arrest and detention order dated June 12, 2002, issued by Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, were unlawful. In what has been called a groundbreaking decision, Justice Suriyadi Halim Omar ruled that the police had failed to provide adequate evidence showing Mr. Nasaruddin Nashir’s involvement in terrorist activities.
However, sources state that the following day Mr. Nashir was rearrested under the very same legal provisions as those of his initial arrest declared illegal by the High Court, prompting Mr. Nashir’s lawyer, Saiful Izham Ramli, to accuse the authorities of contempt of court. He is intending to file contempt proceedings against the Home Minister, the Malaysian Government and the Inspector General of Police for frustrating a High Court order.
Mr. Nahir’s family claim that the police and the prison authorities mounted a trick against them. They were reportedly told to wait for him at Kamunting bus station on 9 November, as per normal procedure, whilst the detainee was taken directly from Kamunting detention centre to the police station, where he was immediately rearrested and ordered to serve a further two-year term at the centre. The detention order, dated 8 November, was reportedly signed by the Malaysian Home Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the above mentioned detainee’s physical and psychological integrity. It is equally concerned by reports of illegal arrests and of the authorities’ evident lack of respect for judicial decisions. OMCT also urges the Malaysian authorities to reconsider the ISA as a whole, as suggested by Shah Alam High Court Judge and Justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, during recent rulings. (see Urgent Appeal Cases MYS 110401-110401.11).
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, Mr. Nasharuddin Nasir was arrested on April 17th, 2002, in Hulu Langat, Selangor when leaving work. He was escorted to his house by 15 policemen who then ransacked his family’s home. No reason was given and the police officer said they were only doing their job based on an order from the Home Ministry. His wife Norlida filed a habeas corpus application at the Shah Alam high Court on May 15th 2002. Mr. Nasir was allegedly detained unlawfully and was denied legal access throughout his detention. When Norlida visited her husband they were unable to talk about the arrest due to constant interruption be the two police officers who were present.
According to the information received, 13 more people were arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 17th and 18th April, 2002. The names of these persons are : Sejahtul Dursina Chomel Mohamad, Syed Ali Syed Abdullah, Shamsuddin Sulaiman, Mior Mohd Yuhana Hamidon, Mat Shah Sapray, Shakom Shaaid, Yusrin Haiti, Mazlan Ishak, F. Muchlis Abdul Halim Ferry, Agungdiyadi Ahmad Bunyamin, Mohd Yusof Rerwan Yunus ayam, Azmi Khan Mhamud Azmi Teksi, Jaffar Saldin Jaafar.
According to the reports, the detainees were arrested under the Internal Security Act with charges of being connected with the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM), allegedly part of a regional network aiming to overthrow South East Asian governments through violence and convert their respective countries into Islamic States. The Malaysian authorities have now arrested a total of 62 since last year. The police claim to have found maps and notes on survival training in the homes of the 14 detainees and that certain members of the KMM have undergone training in Afghanistan. The Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi described the arrests under the ISA as a “preventive measure to avoid any form of violence.
Of the 13 other persons arrested on 17 April 2002, only one has been released. Mrs. Sejahutul Dursina Chomel Mohamad, the wife of an alleged al-Quaeda operative Yazid Sufaat, filed a habeas corpus application and was released on 13 June 2002. According to information received, none of the other detainees has challenged their detention; they are believed to be at the Kamunting detention centre, and still have not been brought before a court, although they are reportedly allowed family and legal counsel visits.
According to reports, the ISA has been frequently used since its enactment in 1960 by the Malaysian authorities, in order to arrest and effectively indefinitely detain human rights and oppostition campaigners. The ISA reportedly allows the authorities to arbitrarily arrest, detain incommunicado and interrogate activists, without granting them access to legal counsel or family visits for up 60 days, and without conducting a trial for a period of up to two years. This period is however renewable by the Prime Minister, meaning that the person can effectively be detained indefinitely without a trial.
The ISA violates detainees’ rights and is supposedly used to supress the person's rights of expression and to demonstration. Detainees under the ISA are reportedly often subjected to various forms of torture, including physical assault, sleep deprivation, round-the-clock interrogation, threats of bodily harm to family members, including detainees' children, and are allegedly often used to extract false signed confessions from the detainees.
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 Mr. Nasharuddin Nasir and all above-mentioned persons;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
§ Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister's Office, Federal Government Administration Center, 62502 Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, Fax: +603 8888 3444, E-mail: ppm@smpke.jpm.my
§ Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Home Minister, Aras 13, Block D1, Parcel D, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, 652020 Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia, Fax: +603 8886 8014
Please also write to the embassies of Malaysia in your respective country.
Geneva, November 15, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.