A human rights group has demanded Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to come clean with the nine foreigners detained last month over alleged links with international terrorist groups.

gmi leaflet demonstration anti isa 040709 syed ibrahim (in blue) Abolish ISA Movement chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh ( far right ), who condemned the planned deportation of the foreigners, said the government should clarify what the suspects were accused of.

"At the moment we have lots of theories going on about them," he told AFP. "That's something which the government needs to confirm. They are being very secretive about even the names and nationalities at the moment."

"They must show the links, the reasons why they have been detained and the evidence behind it," he added.

"If they're going to be extradited to their own countries, are they going to be safe? These questions are unanswered and we can't leave them to the mercy of the government."

NONE Hishammuddin ( centre ) said yesterday that the nine - whom rights activists say are from Jordan, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen - were on the "most-wanted lists" of their home countries and anti-terrorist organisations.

He said arrangements for the deportations were being made but did not give a date for their departure.

Who are they and why?

The government announced last month it had detained the nine foreigners and one Malaysian for "acts of terrorism" and said they were members of a militant organisation tracked down in cooperation with foreign intelligence groups.

However, it has refused to confirm their identities or say which terrorist networks they are allegedly associated with.

Reports have variously said they were followers of the fundamentalist Wahhabi sect, or associated with the Nigerian student accused of trying to detonate explosives on a Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day.

The 10 have been held under ISA which allows for detention without trial and has been used against suspected terrorists as well as government opponents.

The Abolish ISA Movement has said 50 people were detained on Jan 21 as they attended a religious lecture in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur.

They said the majority were released the following day but that 12 remained in detention, including the 10 specified by the government as well as two others who they said remain unidentified.