Three recently-released former ISA detainees urged anti-ISA campaigners and political parties today not to forget about those who are still left behind at the Kamunting detention centre for various terrorism-related charges.

Speaking at their first joint press conference organised by the Anti-ISA Movement (AIM), Hishamuddin Rais, Tian Chua and Saari Sungib said public pressure on the government was crucial in stopping custodial abuse of these less-accessible detainees.

According to Hishamuddin, these detainees are those accused of being members of 'extremist groups' such as al-Ma'unah, the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) and the Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

"They are all in there and they need the support of everyone. Some of them were tortured and I have seen them with bruises. I am very disappointed with political parties for not doing anything to help them.

I know that some of them are members of political parties but these parties have left them to rot in there because people do not want to be associated with those who are labelled 'terrorists' anymore," he said at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall this morning.

Charge in open court

Earlier he made a "grand" entrance to the stage, dressed in a prison garb, handcuffed and blindfolded, and escorted by a "special branch officer". ISA detainees are known to be taken from one place to another blindfolded, especially during the first 60 days of arrest.

Hishamuddin said the authorities should prove their claim by charging these people openly in court and not hold them indefinitely in the camp.

"These people are just good, pious Muslims. They are good, kind, honest and they follow all the rules in the camp. They are also naive because they believe everything the authorities tell them. They are too scared to even engage a lawyer and seek the help of the AIM," he said.

Hishamuddin said contrary to common belief, not all the alleged al-Maunah members were charged in court.

"There are about 12 of them still in the camp and some for 'offences' as simple as being Shia followers. What is wrong with that?" he questioned.

Shaari also said he felt pity for th family members of these detainees asthey had no organisation to help or support them.

He also spoke about the books he had written while in detention. The former head of Jemaah Islah Malaysia had written a total of 9 books during his two years in Kamunting, one of which is yet to be published.

The first six books described his initial experience under the 60-day detention, the seventh book on the judgement passed by the Federal Court, and the eighth was on the ISA.

According to Saari, the final unpublished composition will provide proof of the lies committed by the Inspector-General of the Police and Home Ministry officials

Torture and emotional stress

Responding to a question if there was any incident of torture or abuse in the camp, while they were in detention, Tian Chua said while the reformasi detainees were not physically beaten during the interrogations, they were nevertheless subjected to continuous emotional stress.

"Torture is a part of the whole interrogation process. There were verbal threats. We were not physically beaten up because we had strong support on the outside. For the others (non-reformasi detainees), some of them were brutalised," he said.

For instance, said Hishamuddin, prior to the detention of the reformasi group, some ISA detainees were made to stay in cells where they had no access to toilet facilities.

"They were made to clean the cells after that as a daily chore. They were made to march up and down everyday. Is this supposed to be their rehabilitation?"

However, because of the intense media spotlight on the Kamunting Detention Centre with the incarceration of the reformasi group, later batches were not treated as badly, he said.

Stolen weapons

More than 30 persons were arrested as members of the al-Ma'unah group in June 2000. They were implicated for the theft of a cache of weapons from two military installations in Kedah.

Twenty persons were subsequently charged in court and on being convicted, were sentenced to between 10 years to life in jail. The group's leader Mohamed Amin Razali and his two top assistants were given death sentences. Another sixteen persons were then detained under the ISA.

More than 70 persons said to be members of the KMM have also been detained without trial for allegedly plotting to set up a regional Islamic state stretching across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Also detained is alleged ring leader of the KMM who is said to be Nik Adli, son of Kelantan Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

Following the Sept 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, intelligence reports claimed that the KMM is the local chapter of a regional militant network known as the Jemaah Islamiah, an organisation founded by Indonesian clerics.

No protection

Earlier, DAP vice-chairperson Dr Tan Seng Giaw said the fact that people are still being detained today showed that political freedom in Malaysia remain as restricted as they were 15 years ago when he was detained during the 1987 Operasi Lalang arrests.

Quoting from a book he wrote on his experiences as a detainee, Tan said there has to be a continuous campaign to raise consciousness of the people against governmental abuse.

"We must hope that human dignity will triumph. We must fight endlessly against governmental abuse of powers."

Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the very different backgrounds of the three recently-released detainees showed that no one was immune to arrest by the authorities under the restrictive laws.

"This shows that people from all walks of life in Malaysia are not safe from the ISA. The law is only to 'protect' the ruling parties."

Diverting attention

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) pro-tem chairperson Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim said the ISA was mainly used by the authorities to divert attention from other problems in the country.

"The use of the ISA is a conspiracy to cover-up things such as internal conflict, economic problems and leadership crises. It is used to put a siege mentality on the populace. We don't want the law to be there anymore for political expediency," he stressed.

Another political leader - PRM president and former ISA detainee Dr Syed Husin Ali - criticised several newspapers for repeatedly printing articles accusing the detainees of not being loyal, of conspiring against the government and of using weapons.

"These are false accusations. I hope the lawyers can check whether legal action can be taken against these publications," he said.

Also present at the press conference are representatives from non-government organisations Suaram, Amnesty International Malaysia, Tenaganita, Jemaah Islah Malaysia and the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.