An illegal assembly hearing for five Internal Security Act detainees has been postponed to late February.

According to defence counsel Saiful Izham, the postponement was to facilitate a High Court application to ease access to the five who are serving a two-year detention order under the ISA in Kamunting, Perak.

The detainees are Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, party leaders Dr Badrul Amin Bahron, Tian Chua, Lokman Nor Adam and malaysiakini columnist-cum-filmmaker Hishamuddin Rais.

The new hearing date has been fixed for Feb 27.

Magistrate Lim Kui Lee is presiding at the trial. The defence is also represented by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Sulaiman Abdullah while S Devanandan is the prosecutor.

The five were charged with participating in an illegal assembly in September 1999 in front of the National Mosque, held in the wake of allegations in court that former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was given arsenic during his detention, and to protest the restrictions placed on the distribution of PAS organ Harakah.

The five, together with another Keadilan leader, Saari Sungib, were sent to the Kamunting Detention Centre early last June for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government via militant means. Badrul, however, has been released conditionally.

They are also facing a slew of court cases pertaining to more illegal assemblies as well as sedition and for infringing the Official Secrets Act.

The defendants were not present in court today.