A 'confession' from a former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee published in a newspaper recently raised more questions than answers, said Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI).

GMI was responding to an interview by Utusan Malaysia of a purportedly rehabilitated Jemaah Islamiyyah (JI) terrorist, Syed Ali Syed Abdullah.

The current circumstances surrounding Syed Ali as well as documented accounts by others who have been detained under the ISA render the report very doubtful, said GMI in a statement.

Syed Ali was arrested in April 2002 and subsequently detained at the Kamunting Detention Camp in Perak for four years. He was released last October, but remains under restricted residence.

"It was only then (during my detention) that I realised my involvement in the group was wrong," Syed Ali said in the interview published last Wednesday.

"During my detention, I was engaged in dialogue with notable religious figures who were invited to talk about Islam. From then, I realised that you should not commit violence arbitrarily or without reason," he added.

Syed Ali said he was given a lot of beneficial reading materials and was able to exercise and play sports.

"I was never treated badly during detention, and neither was my family... Even at this very moment, I am still given assistance in resuming my new life," he added.

What is it voluntary?

GMI said Syed Ali's circumstances, such as the close police surveillance under which he is placed, puts into question the voluntariness of his confession.

"In this context, what were the feelings and state of mind of Syed Ali when this exclusive interview was brought about by the media, given the (newspaper's) close cooperation with the police force?" asked GMI chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh in the statement.

"GMI is certain that the confession and account given by a suspect under detention or one who is under restricted residence has not been guaranteed true nor can it be believed," he added.

GMI also said numerous affidavits and declarations by former ISA detainees suggest conditions at Kamunting are contrary to the rosy picture portrayed in the report.

The conditions are comparable to the Guantanamo Prison for detainees of the US' war on terror, it added.

These include detainees allegedly being:

- stripped naked and treated like animals
- forced to drink urine or eat feces
- punched, kicked, and sodomised
- beaten almost fatally
- interrogated continuously for 72 hours until they fall unconscious

"This is only a fraction of what happens (in Kamunting). As such, can the portrayal by Utusan Malaysia that the police have never abused ISA detainees be accepted?" asked GMI.

Stressing that the ISA cannot be justified and should be done away with, GMI said media organisations should provide a more "honest" and "comprehensive" picture of conditions of ISA detainees by interviewing other ex-detainees.

It also demanded that police desist from manipulating and oppressing former detainees and their family members.

The government should free all detainees and those released from restricted residence, and hold a tribunal looking into the abuses of ISA detainees and hear their testimonies.

"The government should also close down Kamunting in line with its call for the closure of Guantanamo Camp."