Malaysia must demand the safe return of two citizens detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay, if it does not want to be seen as failing to uphold its rights as a sovereign nation.

charlesl hector interview 05052005 looking Human rights lawyer Charles Hector (left) said it is the country’s “duty” to its citizens to follow up on such cases, especially since the two - suspected terrorists Mohamad Nazir Lep and Mohd Farik Amin - were not arrested on American soil.

“Malaysia should be condemned for not following up on the two there. If it were any other country, they would be jumping up and down if their citizens were detained by another country,” he said when contacted today.

Charles said the detention of the duo in the anti-terrorism facility should not be allowed as they were not arrested for crimes committed in the US.

Based on leaked US government NONE documents posted on Wikileaks, Mohamad Nazir was arrested in Thailand while Mohd Farik (right) was caught in Cambodia in 2003.

The duo were transferred to Guantanamo Bay on Sept 4, 2006, based on allegations that they had been plotting a similar attack as the Sept 11, 2001 tragedy in New York, but this time in Los Angeles.

Charles pointed out that, as with any country, the US is entitled to charge any individual for a crime committed on its territory but stressed that taking custody of individuals caught in another country is a different matter altogether.

Malaysia can leverage on the fact that, despite detaining a group of foreigners under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last year, they were deported to their respective countries to be tried in a court of law, he said.

“They should be sent back to Malaysia and tried under Malaysian law. They were caught in Asean countries... the US should recognise not only Asean but also the sovereignty of Malaysia,” he said.

“I’m sure the US has no jurisdiction in Cambodia or Thailand. This is (Malaysia’s) duty to the citizens. If Malaysia allows the US to do this, it is as if Malaysia is not standing up for its sovereignty.”

‘Fair, open trial needed’

Human rights NGO Suaram also weighed in, saying the main issue is to have a “fair and open trial” for the duo, instead of leaving them to languish among more than 700 people being held in the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba.

Coordinator P Nalini said that, from the time the NGO found out about the detention of the duo in 2006, it has constantly called on the government to bring them back to face trial here, or at least to push the US to conduct a trial there.

She pointed out, however, that the continued existence of the ISA gives Malaysia fewer grounds to demand that they be extradited.

Suaram said it believes that a trial, regardless of where it is conducted, is a more realistic aim for the sake of Mohamad Nazir and Mohd Farik.

“If a trial (can’t be held) in the US, send them back here. So long as there is no fair and open trial, we won’t get the truth.”

Suaram has been unable to locate the families of the two detainees despite numerous attempts. It only knows that one of them is from Johor.