Case MYS 140711
Arbitrary arrest and detention/ Alleged ill-treatment/ Fear for the safety
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Malaysia.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by SUARAM, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the preventive detention, since 2 July 2011, of six leadersof theSocialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) (see below) under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), in violation of fundamental due process rights. OMCT has also been informed that the charges against 24 other PSM activists are still pending.
According to the information received, on 2 July 2011, the police rearrested Sungai Siput Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, PSM deputy chairperson, Mr. Saraswathy Muthu, central committee members Mr. Choo Chon Kai and Mr. Munisamy Sukumaran, Sungai Siput branch secretary Mr. A. Letchumanan, and PSM Youth leader Mr. Sarat Babu,under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), which allows for 60 days detention without trial, renewable for up to 2 years, at the discretion of the Home Minister. The police reportedly informed that they would be detained at the police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. However, to date, their exact whereabouts could not be ascertained and no charges have been brought against them.
According to the same information received, the six aforementioned PSM leaders were regularly interrogated for four to five hours a day. They were reportedly allowed only one visit by their families and lawyers, on 7 July 2011, which took place at different locations in the city according to where they were respectively detained at the time. A second visit has been scheduled for 15 July 2011, but no further information on the venue has been provided yet.
OMCT has been informed that Mr. Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj was admitted to the Malaysia heart institute due to a heart problem while in custody. He was discharged on 13 July 2011 and transferred back to the detention centre.
OMCT recalls that the six aforementioned PSM leaders were among the 31 PSM activists, including three minors one of whom was released the same day, who were arrested on 25 June 2011, at the Sungai Dua toll of Kepala Batas, while they were travelling by bus from Kedah for a planned Bersih (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) roadshow in Penang, in order to promote national awareness on fair elections[1]. They were all released on 2 July 2011, but the six aforementioned individuals were immediately rearrested and the 24 other PSM activists were charged under Section 48(1) of the Societies Act 1966, in connection with the Bersih 2.0 rally scheduled for 9 July 2011, and under Section 29 (1) of the Internal Security Act (ISA) for being in possession of subversive documents[2]. The first hearing is reportedly scheduled for 21 July 2011, at the Butterworth Court in Penang.
OMCT has also been informed that out of the 30 PSM activists detained, some were ill-treated (including use of solitary confinement and denial of medication, basic items and sufficient drinking water). Some women detainees were allegedly beaten and punched by the police. They were denied access to a doctor and a lawyer and they were only allowed to see their families for the first time five days after their arrest.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the safety of the six aforementioned PSM activists and recalls to the authorities of Malaysia that they are legally bound to effectively ensure the physical and psychological integrity of all persons deprived of liberty in accordance with international human rights law.
OMCT further urges the competent authorities to immediately release the six aforementioned PSM activists in the absence of valid legal charges and judicial process consistent with international legal standards, or if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times. OMCT has on several occasions expressed gravest concerns over existing emergency and anti-subversion laws in Malaysia which provide for indefinite detention without trial in clear violation of internationally recognised human rights standards relating to fair trials, namely the Dangerous Drugs Act 1985 (DDA), the 1969 EO and the Internal Security Act (ISA)[3]. Under these laws, individuals are deprived of many of their fundamental human rights, such as their right to a fair and public trial, the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law, and their right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In this regard, OMCT recalls that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has urged the Government of Malaysia, following its mission to the country, to take steps to repeal the four preventive laws in force in the country that allow detention without trial, in some cases indefinitely, including the EO[4].
Please write to the authorities in Malaysia urging them to:
i. Immediately locate and disclose the whereabouts ofthe six abovementioned PSM;
ii. Guarantee, in all circumstances, their physical and psychological integrity;
iii. Grant them unconditional access to a lawyer of their choice and their families, as well as guarantee that they are promptly examined by independent doctors and receive adequate and free medical care, in accordance, inter alia, with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
iv. Order the immediate release of the six aforementioned PSM activists in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring them promptly before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
v. Drop the charges pending against the 24 other PSM activists relating solely to the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly;
vi. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the arrest, detention and allegation of ill-treatment of the 30 PSM activists, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
vii. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Ø Prime Minister of Malaysia Mr. Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister’s Office Malaysia, Perdana Putra Building, Federal Government Administrative Centre, 62502 PUTRAJAYA, Selangor, Malaysia, Fax: + 60 3 8888 3444, Email: ppm@pmo.gov.my
Ø Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Ministry of Home Affairs,Blok D1 & D2, Kompleks D, Pusat Pentadbiran, Kerajaan Persekutuan, 62546 Putrajaya, Fax: 03-88891613/03-88891610, Email: hishammuddin@moha.gov.my
Ø Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations in Geneva, ICC-1er/ H, Pré-Bois 20, P.O. 1834, CH-1215, Geneva 15, Switzerland, Email : mwgeneva@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 710 75 01
Please also write to the embassies of Malaysia in your respective country.
Geneva, 14 July 2011.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
[1] From 22 June 2011 to date, the police reportedly arrested 223 persons for investigation on politically motivated charges, in connection with the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), which was organizing an assembly for the 9 July 2011. On 1st July 2011, the Home Ministry reportedly gazetted BERSIH as an illegal organisation. During this peaceful assembly, the police reportedly used excessive force against the participants.
[2] The punishment includes a fine of less then RM10.000, a jail term of less than five years or both.
[3] See for example OMCT joint press release on 1 August 2010, www.omct.org
[4] See the Report of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, 8 February 2011, A/HRC/16/47/Add.2.
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