A human rights organisation today accused the government of bribing Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees to persuade them from speaking out against abuses.

According to the Abolish ISA Movement (AIM), several detainees had been given sports shoes, badminton rackets, calculators, sarung and RM100 cash.

"It is a regulation in any place of detention that no detainee should be allowed to keep cash.

"By giving out RM100 to these ISA detainees, the relevant authorities have not only violated their own regulations but the act also is tantamount to bribing the detainees to keep their mouths shut," a AIM memorandum read today.

The memo was read out by AIM chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh to Suhakam commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan after it was handed over to the latter at the Suhakam secretariat in Kuala Lumpur today.

Also present were human rights organisation Suaram coordinators Chang Lih Kang, Yap Swee Seng and the wives of the ISA detainees.

Part of 'rehabilitation'

According to Syed Ibrahim the 'bribes' were given to Azmi Khan Mahmood, Jaafar Saldin, Mat Sah Satray, Mazlan Ishak, Shakom Shahid, Shamsuddin Sulaiman, Syed Husin Syed Abdullah and Yusrin Haiti just after they were served an order extending their detention for another two years.

Detention orders and their renewals are usually signed by the Internal Security Minister and allow for an indefinite period of detention.

The eight, placed under the ISA for suspected links with terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), were given their detention orders on June 12. The alleged gifts were later presented to them five days later as part of a rehabilitation program.

"On June 17, the commander of the so-called 'rehabilitation' programme, one ASP Aris again reminded the detainees not to make any reports on torture or launch hunger strikes which will defame the government and jeopardise their chances of release," Ibrahim added.

Ibrahim also said that the detainees were warned against making reports to human rights groups or even Suhakam.

He also cried foul that the detainees had been transferred to a police remand centre (PRC) as opposed to being placed in the Kamunting Detention Centre a day before being served their renewed detention orders.

Abuse in PRCs

PRCs are meant to house ISA detainees during their initial 60-day detention period before they are transferred to the Kamunting Detention Centre where they serve out the next two years of their detention.

Many detainees claim that abuses and human rights violations occurred the most during their stay in PRCs.

"However, this time, the detainees found that the detention cells at this unknown PRC had become much cleaner and proper bedding was also provided.

"Nice food, including satay, was given to the detainees and AIM strongly believes that this was due to the many complaints of torturous conditions at the PRC. This forced the authorities to improve their image," Ibrahim said.

Last May, Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar made an unprecedented visit to the Kamunting Detention Centre after several media reports surfaced comparing the treatment of ISA detainees to that of Iraqi inmates at the Abu Gharib prison.

According to him, while there was no visible evidence of abuse at Kamunting, detainees had recounted experiences of torture at PRCs.