The Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) today called on the government to release the full list of detainees currently held under the Internal Security Act together with the reasons for their detention.

The anti-ISA lobby group said the government should provide this information to the public to show that it is serious about convincing the public and the international community that the detention of these people is justified.

"It is not sufficient nor credible for the government to only announce the number of detainees.

"We call on the government to charge them in court or release them immediately," said its secretary Yap Swee Seng in a press statement.

Last week Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung reported to the Dewan Rakyat that there are 95 persons still detained under the ISA.

On June 24, the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) had said in a rebuttal letter to an article in the Economist magazine that 58 of the detainees are members of the Jemaah Islamiah, 18 of the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia and 15 of the Al-Maunah group.

The rest are said to be detained for alleged involvement in activities such as firearms smuggling, membership of the Free Aceh Movement, international terrorism, document falsification and people smuggling syndicates.

Human rights violation

The latest controversy over the ISA arose after Chor ( left ) remarked in Parliament that ISA detainees do not suffer maltreatment at the hands of the authorities.

He was reported as saying that the detainees were only denied outside contact for the first 60 days of their detention. After the initial period, he said they are allowed visits from family members and lawyers.

However, this has been criticised by anti-ISA lobby groups who claimed the denial of access in the first 60 days is a breach of Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution and is a violation of the human rights.

"This is another dire attempt by the government to defend the indefensible ISA. It is a known fact that all ISA detainees are put in solitary confinement during the first 60 days of their detention.

"Solitary confinement for such a long period without access to lawyers, family members and the outside world is itself a cruel maltreatment of the detainees and constitutes a form of severe psychological torture," said Yap.

Give legal access

He said from accounts recorded by human rights organisation Amnesty International, some detainees have alleged that they were subjected to physical torture while under police custody.

"Former detainees have complained about physical assaults by the police, deprivation of sleep, food and water, confinement to a dirty and small cell and long interrogation hours.

"Even in recent cases, there is no lack of incidents of physical torture, such as the case of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim ( right ), who was beaten in custody, and (former detainee) Malik Husin, who was forced to strip naked and drink urine," he said.

Yap added that as a first step, the government should abide by several recent high profile court judgments which called for legal counsel for detainees even during the first 60 days of detention.

"The practice of allowing a lawyer's visit (the entire period that a person is detained under the ISA) should be implemented immediately and professionally," he added.