Suhakam to ask police about ISA detainee's interrogation

comments     Claudia Theophilus     Published     Updated

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will meet police soon to raise issues reported by Saari Sungib, an Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee, over interrogation methods.

When contacted today, Suhakam complaints and inquiry working group chairperson Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan said the allegations will be brought up with the police during a scheduled meeting.

"There are numerous issues to be considered and we hope to get some response from the police," he said of Saari's request for Suhakam to verify the truth of his account.

He said such interrogation methods were probably employed as a way of extracting information from suspects.

"It depends o­n how we perceive the interrogation to be because there is more than o­ne way to skin a cat," he said.

"We can o­nly speculate as to the motive of using such methods... usually it is to frustrate or bore the detainee to death... but we do not know for sure."

Asked if there was any violation of Saari's human rights, Hamdan said the fact that he continues to be detained without trial is already a clear violation.

"But the extent of a psychological trauma, if any, needs to be ascertained through further tests by a professional," he said.

On Jan 31, Saari's wife Aliza Jaafar submitted a 158-page personal account by her husband to Suhakam providing insight into police interrogation methods during his initial 60-day detention under the ISA.

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