The alleged assault o­n two reformasi ISA detainees by camp guards requires urgent and immediate independent inquiry, an United Nations official said today.

"Custodial assaults of detainees by security officials are matter of grave concern," Param Cumaraswamy, UN special rapporteur o­n the independence of judges and lawyers said in a statement.

The two men - Tian Chua, vice-president of the opposition Keadilan and Hishamudin Rais, a social activist - have been held since April 2001 at Kemunting detention centre in Perak under the tough Internal Security Act (ISA).

They were reportedly thrown o­n the floor and handcuffed when they tried to keep security guards from taking away a laptop computer.

Cumaraswamy said there should not be a repetition of what happened when former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was brutally assaulted while in police detention in 1998.

"Malaysia was heard nationally and internationally criticising the United States, quite rightly, for violating international law over its aggression of Iraq," he said.

"Yet it is not seen prepared to comply with international law domestically in the dispensation of justice to its own citizens."

Free reformasi detainees

Cumaraswamy urged the government to free the detainees unconditionally and repeal the draconian security law.

Camp commander Abdul Basir Mohamad insisted that no o­ne was beaten or handcuffed.

"No, there was no beating. No o­ne was beaten," he told malaysiakini .

The ISA, which critics say is a tool of the government used to stifle political opposition, allows indefinite detention without trial.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and police chief Norian Mai have said the activists planned to use weapons during violent street demonstrations to topple the government. - AFP