ISA detainees: Habeas corpus case to continue
Christine ChanPublished: Mar 8, 2010 7:54 AM | Updated: Mar 8, 2010 8:37 AM
The Bar Council will proceed with pursuing a habeas corpus hearing on Wednesday on behalf of eight of the nine individuals detained in January under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
The Bar Council will proceed with pursuing a habeas corpus hearing on Wednesday on behalf of eight of the nine individuals detained in January under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
This is despite the government’s attempt to negate the legal process by deporting all the foreigners in the group.
“Deporting the detainees would render the habeas corpus academic,” said Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan (right) at a joint press conference this morning with the Anti-ISA Movement.
However, the lawyers involved will be in court as scheduled, as one of the detainees - Azhari Murad - is Malaysian.
Lawyer Edmund Bon who was present said the habeas corpus application was filed last month, but that the date for the hearing was set for March 10.
“We are very disappointed with the court because the judicial process was not quick enough and the incident was not dealt with judiciously,” he said.
He said the deportations are not in compliance with due process as the reasons were not made known.
The Home Ministry had detained the nine for alleged terrorist links. Apart from Azhari, the rest are from Yemen, Syria, Nigeria and Jordan, and all but one have legal representation.
‘Deportation imminent’
Last Friday, the Home Ministry notified the lawyers by fax that Khalid Saleem Mohammad had been deported to Yemen.
“The other six are facing deportation and were to have been sent to the immigration department by Saturday,” lawyer Syahredzan Johan told reporters today.
He rebutted the government’s claim that the nine were on the "most-wanted list" in their home country.
The claim was also refuted by the respective diplomatic missions of the detainees’ country of origin, according to the families who had contacted the embassies concerned.
The detainees were denied legal access and were not told the details of the reasons for their arrest, said family members who had contacted the Bar Council for help.
The foreigners were all students in public universities in Malaysia, and were holding valid student visas at the time of their arrest.
Up to the time of writing, the immigration department head could not be contacted to verify if the foreigners had been deported.
This is despite the government’s attempt to negate the legal process by deporting all the foreigners in the group.
“Deporting the detainees would render the habeas corpus academic,” said Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan (right) at a joint press conference this morning with the Anti-ISA Movement.However, the lawyers involved will be in court as scheduled, as one of the detainees - Azhari Murad - is Malaysian.
Lawyer Edmund Bon who was present said the habeas corpus application was filed last month, but that the date for the hearing was set for March 10.
“We are very disappointed with the court because the judicial process was not quick enough and the incident was not dealt with judiciously,” he said.
He said the deportations are not in compliance with due process as the reasons were not made known.
The Home Ministry had detained the nine for alleged terrorist links. Apart from Azhari, the rest are from Yemen, Syria, Nigeria and Jordan, and all but one have legal representation.
‘Deportation imminent’
Last Friday, the Home Ministry notified the lawyers by fax that Khalid Saleem Mohammad had been deported to Yemen.
“The other six are facing deportation and were to have been sent to the immigration department by Saturday,” lawyer Syahredzan Johan told reporters today.
He rebutted the government’s claim that the nine were on the "most-wanted list" in their home country.
The claim was also refuted by the respective diplomatic missions of the detainees’ country of origin, according to the families who had contacted the embassies concerned.
The detainees were denied legal access and were not told the details of the reasons for their arrest, said family members who had contacted the Bar Council for help.
The foreigners were all students in public universities in Malaysia, and were holding valid student visas at the time of their arrest.
Up to the time of writing, the immigration department head could not be contacted to verify if the foreigners had been deported.
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