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Malaysia âabuses terror suspectsâ
File under "No skin off my fore"...
Abuses have included beatings, burning with cigarettes and sexual humiliation, the New York-based organisation says in a report issued on Tuesday. Some suspects have been told they will be handed over to the US authorities at Guantanamo Bay, it adds.
The Malaysian government has denied mistreating prisoners. Human Rights Watch says about 100 terror suspects have been held without charge under Malaysiaâs Internal Security Act - some for almost three years.
| You're breakin' my heart... |
The report says detainees have been subjected to sexually humiliating interrogations and forced to stand semi-naked for long periods. Human Rights Watch has urged the Malaysian government to allow independent monitors into its detention centres.
| I urge them to simply cut the Bad Guys' heads off... |
"US abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo shows what can happen behind closed doors," said Sam Zarifi, the groupâs deputy director for Asia.
| And Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl show what can happen when the Bad Guys are the ones in charge... |
Kuala Lumpur has rejected allegations of prisoner abuse. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar last week said recent reports of mistreatment were "wild". He called on human rights groups to stop "harping on countries that have got a very good and clear track record". Human Rights Watch says interrogators have used the US camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba as a threat. Detainees who refused to "cooperate" with Malaysian security officials were told they could be transferred to US custody there, the report says. "The Malaysian government uses Guantanamo as a sword and a shield," Mr Zarifi said. "Abuses by US authorities in the âwar on terrorâ give cover to governments that abuse their own citizens."
| "Maybe if they just asked nicely, the citizens would stop killing people!" |
Malaysiaâs Internal Security Act was approved in 1960 in response to a communist insurgency. It allows for indefinite detention and in the past has been used against opponents of the governing UMNO party. Since 2001 it has been widely invoked in the fight against militant groups. Most of the 100-odd detainees are accused of being linked to the regional radical group Jemaah Islamiah.
Posted by: tipper 2004-05-26 |
