A habeas corpus application to challenge the two-year detention of one of the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) was filed today.

According to DAP MP and lawyer M Kula Segaran, the application was filed for M Manoharan at the Ipoh High Court.

Earlier, he told Malaysiakini that the legal team met with Manoharan’s wife at the Kamunting Detention Centre this morning and was given a copy of the detention order.

The opposition politician said he would push for similar applications to be filed for the other four detainees once the legal team is given more details and the representation to act by their families.

Habeas corpus is a writ ordering prisoners to be brought before a court or judge to ascertain if there are any procedural defects which could render their detention unlawful.

Prominent lawyer and DAP chairperson Karpal Singh has been appointed as the lead counsel for the legal team of the five detainees after a meeting with them at Kamunting this morning.

Rare practice

Apart from Manoharan, the four other Hindraf leaders detained yesterday are P Uthayakumar, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasantha Kumar.

They were detained under Section 8 of the ISA - after their detention orders were signed by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his capacity as internal security minister - and sent straight to the Kamunting detention camp located in northern Perak.

According to Kula Segaran, one of the main grounds of the habeas corpus application is that Section 73 of the ISA which provides for the initial 60-day investigation period was bypassed.

“The law was not followed and we have sufficient case law to support the minister’s order (made under such circumstances) that can be declared null and void,” he explained

Normally, an ISA detainee will be held under Section 73 of the Act which allows a person to be detained for up to 60 days by the police without any warrant of arrest at an undisclosed location, held incommunicado and denied access to legal counsel.

Interrogation is to be carried out during this period - often involving allegations of torture and abuse - on the suspect deemed as likely to commit an act that pose threats to national security.

After the 60-day period, the detainee can be released or further held for two years under Section 8 of the ISA at the Kamunting camp at the discretion of the internal security minister. The two-year order is renewable.

To detain an ISA detainee directly under Section 8 is rarely done - except in 2004 when Sri Lankan businessman BSA Tahir was held over his alleged nuclear links and sent straight to the Kamunting camp.

Such a move against the Hindraf five yesterday will impact their habeas corpus application as they can only challenge their detention over questions of procedural compliance.

Whereas detention under Section 73 will provide them with a wider avenue to argue their case, including the possibility of challenging the merits of their detention.

Detention order

Meanwhile, Manoharan’s detention order stated that he was arrested because “there were reasons to believe” he is a threat to national security through his involvement in Hindraf which has caused “restlessness among the different races”.

“(These activities) have led to racial and anti-government sentiments among the Indians,” stated the detention order served on his wife, a copy of which was made available to Malaysiakini.

“To ensure the struggle’s success, Hindraf has tried to gain international recognition as well as seek help from the extremist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to launch further riots of a bigger scale in this country,” it read further.

The order also listed seven “facts” to prove its claims, including details of Manoharan’s activities in Hindraf from Oct 6 at various events in Selangor, Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan.

Among others, he was accused to have questioned bumiputera privileges and urged the Indian community to be united in fighting against Malay and Umno leaders as their “main enemy”.

The ISA was originally drafted in the 1960s to battle the communist insurgency but earned notoriety in recent years as a tool to crackdown on dissent.

Currently, there are 74 people, mostly suspected Muslim militants, being detained under the ISA.