ISA detention extended for 8 JI suspects
Published: Jun 13, 2006 4:27 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Eight suspected Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members - whose Internal Security Act (ISA) detention - expired yesterday are believed to have been slapped with a two-year extension.
Eight suspected Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members - whose Internal Security Act (ISA) detention - expired yesterday are believed to have been slapped with a two-year extension.
The eight Azmi Khan Mahmood, Jaafar Saldin, Mat Sah Mohd Satray, Shakom Shahid, Yusrin Haiti, Mazlan Ishak, Syed Ali Syed Abdullah and Shamsuddin Sulaiman have been detained since April 2002.
In a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the Anti-ISA Movement (known by its Malay acronym GMI) said it is made to understand that the detention orders for the eight have been extended.
The movement demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also internal security minister, for the extension.
According to GMI, two other JI suspects Indonesians Ferry @ Muchlis Abdul Halim and Agung Biyadi Ahmad Bunyamin have been released and deported.
"GMI condemns the decision of the government to extend the detention orders of the eight and the deportation," read the two-page memorandum signed by its chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh.
"Using the ISA arbitrarily is a convenient tool for the government as any decision made cannot be questioned by the courts," it added.
No announcement
Terming the extension as a gross violation of human rights, GMI took the government to task for failing to prove the alleged crimes of the detainees in an open court.
"Accusing someone of committing a crime without producing credible evidence is slanderous, detaining someone without trial and not giving him a chance to defend himself is barbaric," it said.
GMI also expressed disappointment that there was no official announcement pertaining to the extension of the detention orders.
"There was not even an official statement made to the families of those detained. The lack of transparency regarding arrests and detention orders is omnipresent and is preposterous in a country elected as a council member for human rights in the United Nations," it said.
GMI also reiterated its call for all ISA detainees to be released and for the ISA to be abolished.
The movement also urged Suhakam to perform its duties to safeguard human rights and put it to the government to answer for the basis of the detention and extension.
The eight Azmi Khan Mahmood, Jaafar Saldin, Mat Sah Mohd Satray, Shakom Shahid, Yusrin Haiti, Mazlan Ishak, Syed Ali Syed Abdullah and Shamsuddin Sulaiman have been detained since April 2002.
In a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the Anti-ISA Movement (known by its Malay acronym GMI) said it is made to understand that the detention orders for the eight have been extended.
The movement demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also internal security minister, for the extension. According to GMI, two other JI suspects Indonesians Ferry @ Muchlis Abdul Halim and Agung Biyadi Ahmad Bunyamin have been released and deported.
"GMI condemns the decision of the government to extend the detention orders of the eight and the deportation," read the two-page memorandum signed by its chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh.
"Using the ISA arbitrarily is a convenient tool for the government as any decision made cannot be questioned by the courts," it added.
No announcement
Terming the extension as a gross violation of human rights, GMI took the government to task for failing to prove the alleged crimes of the detainees in an open court.
"Accusing someone of committing a crime without producing credible evidence is slanderous, detaining someone without trial and not giving him a chance to defend himself is barbaric," it said.
GMI also expressed disappointment that there was no official announcement pertaining to the extension of the detention orders.
"There was not even an official statement made to the families of those detained. The lack of transparency regarding arrests and detention orders is omnipresent and is preposterous in a country elected as a council member for human rights in the United Nations," it said.
GMI also reiterated its call for all ISA detainees to be released and for the ISA to be abolished.
The movement also urged Suhakam to perform its duties to safeguard human rights and put it to the government to answer for the basis of the detention and extension.
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