The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) today strongly defended its right to carry out its own investigations into human rights abuses, in a report released today.

The 66-page report, based on a four-month inquiry into allegations of police brutality in the aborted 100,000 People's Gathering last November, states that the commission had locus standi (legal standing) to inquire into allegations of the infringement of human rights.

Suhakam is apparently responding to the claim by the Attorney-General's Chambers that the commission's maiden inquiry was ' sub judice ' and could interfere with the court proceedings of participants arrested during the assembly.

In a letter to Suhakam on Nov 29 last year, AG's Chambers prosecution head Abdul Gani Patail said that investigations against the police and participants of the gathering were pending, and he expressed concerns that the inquiry was sub judice .

"It is in view of this that chambers regrets that there will be no observers representing the AG's Chambers at the investigations," said Abdul Gani.

Right to conduct own inquiry

The commission clarified today that while it cannot inquire into the guilt or innocence of participants caught during the assembly, it could however inquire into abuses during the incident or during arrest.

"Suhakam is precluded from beginning or continuing with an inquiry only if the subject matter of the inquiry is the same as that of the court proceedings.

"If a person is charged in court for taking part in an unlawful assembly or for obstructing the police from carrying out their duties, then Suhakam cannot inquire into whether the person is guilty or not," the report stated.

However, it said that Suhakam can inquire into "whether any human rights violations occurred during the incident which resulted in the person being arrested and also whether there were any infringements after the arrest".

Suhakam cited the Human Rights Commission Act which was passed by Parliament in 1999, saying that it gives the commission the powers to conduct its own inquiry into allegations of human rights violations.

Recalcitrant witnesses warned

The rights body also warned that it had the power to summon individuals to provide evidence and those who failed to do so can be punished.

"Persons who refuse to comply with summonses from Suhakam or otherwise refuse to cooperate with inquiry conducted by Suhakam, commit offences for which they can be prosecuted and punished," Suhakam said.

The inquiry, which was supposed to kick off on Nov 29 last year, was unceremoniously postponed for a day when the panel failed to receive a list of potential witnesses from the police.

The three-member panel was chaired by former judge Anuar Zainal Abidin, Mehrun Siraj and Simon Sipaun.

Stringent protests expected

A total of 46 witnesses testified in the inquiry, including 16 police officers, Keadilan vice-president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, two opposition parliamentarians, and a 17-year-old student.

The report on the aborted Nov 5 rally, which severely criticised the police for its lack of professionalism in crowd control, is expected to draw stringent protests from the government and police.

Suhakam has earlier been criticised by government leaders when it released its annual report last April and its report on the freedom of assembly early this month.

Both reports contained recommendations on how the authorities can uphold citizens' rights to unrestricted and legal peaceful assemblies.