Former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan,who was re-arrested yesterday evening under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma), could potentially face months in detention, said human rights lawyer Syahredzan Johan.

This is because under Sosma, Khairuddin, who is the former Batu Kawan Umno deputy chief, can be detained for 29 days.

After that, if he is indeed charged, there would be no bail and so Khairuddin would be remanded until the conclusion of the trial, which could take months.

And even if Khairuddin ( left ) is acquitted after the trial, the public prosecutor can file an appeal and apply to remand him until the conclusion of the appeal, Syahredzan explained.

“Basically, if they (the authorities) take these routes, Khairuddin might be in for a very long time,” he told Malaysiakini .

He also pointed out that though he has earlier warned that the wide usage of Sections 124B and 124C of the Penal Code could be extended to Sosma, Khairuddin’s case was the first time Sosma has been invoked in relation to the 1MDB scandal.

Lawyers Eric Paulsen and New Sin Yew also said that using Sosma against Khairuddin is clearly an abuse of the “draconian” law.

According to Paulsen, Sosma was meant to “maintain public order and security” for the greater safety of the federation, and the measures were supposed to be temporary.

“Sosma is only supposed to apply to genuine security offences, not to protect the government or the prime minister from their political adversaries,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini .

Bid to ‘frustrate’ foreign authorities’ probes

Meanwhile, New said that lodging complaints with foreign authorities, “which are lawful under local and foreign laws, cannot be reasonably construed as an offence against the state”.

“Khairuddin should not have been investigated in the first place, what more being arrested under Sosma,” New ( photo ) said.

This is an attempt by the government to “frustrate” the investigations of foreign authorities, he lamented.

Khairuddin was arrested last Friday at his home in Mont Kiara, hours after finding out that he was barred from leaving the country.

He was held under Section 124C of the Penal Code and remanded for six days from last Saturday.

His initial arrest was on suspicion of acting to ‘topple the government’ with evidence on the 1MDB scandal that he submitted to Swiss authorities.

Besides Switzerland, Khairuddin has also lodged reports against 1MDB in London, Hong Kong and Singapore.

He was also reported to have scheduled a meeting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, which has reportedly opened an investigation into 1MDB.

Khairuddin was released yesterday evening, only to be re-arrested by the police soon afterwards, this time under Sosma.