Desolate and with no means of relating his daunting experience, an Iraqi detained in Kamunting under the Internal Security Act (ISA) revealed the extent of his agony to lawyers today.

NONE Sami Hammad, who was arrested and incarcerated since March last year, had attempted suicide on more than two occasions, saying he could not withstand the Guantanamo-style 'torture', Lawyers for Liberty spokesperson Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said.

Hammad was arrested and held at the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters, where he was tortured during the 60 days in police custody, before being sent to the ISA detention centre in Kamunting, Perak.

After having failed to obtain a confession that he had tried to traffic Iraqi asylum seekers to Australia, police interrogators on one occasion kept him awake for 72 hours, during which he was fed with white rice only.

Hammad was arrested for human trafficking several days after arriving in Kuala Lumpur on a "business-related" visit. However, he claimed that he was in the country to help documented asylum seekers to obtain amnesty.

A note detailing the torment of 10 detainees who had been tortured by police during their 60-day detention periods, said to have been be smuggled out of the Kamunting detention centre by its staff members, was provided to Malaysiakini last week.

   

Members of Lawyers for Liberty visited the camp today following the ghastly encounters described in the note and to verify the contents. Out of 10 detainees they spoke to, only Hammad willingly come forth to speak about his sufferings.

Chilli paste smeared on genitals

The notes brought out of the detention centre contain an excerpt of the Iraqi national’s agony,  where he relates that Bukit Aman police worked on two shifts to ensure that he stayed awake.

“The next day I was forced to strip naked and take cold showers, with the air-conditioner at a low temperature,” says a passage.

NONE Unlike the other detainees, Hammad received a “special form” of punishment, where his naked body was daubed with chilli paste, particularly between the skin folds and genitals.

“The police refused to let him to wipe off the chilli paste, which was left to dry on his body for two to three days,” said Fadiah, who spoke to Hammad.

The trauma, she said, forced Hammad to admit to crimes he had no knowledge about.

“After being sent to Kamunting, he had tried to hang himself several times. He was said to be mentally unstable and forced to consume depressants that keep him asleep throughout the day.”

However, Hospital Bahagia Tanjung Rambutan declared him sound of mind, says the Kamunting note, but Hammad told Fadiah today that he has to continue with the medication.

Fadiah and her colleague Farhana Abdul Halim who visited the camp were told that Hammad’s detention had been extended until next year.

She said Hammad “could no longer tolerate” his imprisonment, so much so that he related the tortures he had suffered in the presence of two camp officers.

Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah has said that Suhakam officers are also expected to make a trip to the camp within two weeks to interview the detainees.