Malaysian authorities have freed an alleged Islamic militant from a detention camp and plan to deport him to neighbouring Indonesia, his lawyer and wife said today.

Defence lawyer Latifah Koya told AFP that Mohamad Iqbal Abdul Rahman, an Indonesian with permanent residency in Malaysia, was released from a sentence imposed under the tough Internal Security Act (ISA) yesterday after serving two years.

"But he was immediately detained by immigration authorities who plan to deport him to Indonesia," she said.

Latifah criticised authorities as "inhumane" for not allowing Mohamad Iqbal to see his wife Fatimah Zahrah Abdul Aziz before he is deported.

No links to JI

Fatimah said her husband was a religious preacher before he was arrested in August 2001.

"He is innocent. He has no links to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist group," she told AFP .

Fatimah said her husband would remain in custody in Kuala Lumpur until he was deported.

Cynthia Gabriel, executive director of the rights group Voice of the Malaysian People (Suaram) said Iqbal, 46, was arrested in June 2001.

He was then sent to the Kemunting camp detention camp on August 22 to serve a two-year sentence for his alleged involvement in militant activities.

The ISA allows for indefinite detention without trial.

Gabriel hit out at Malaysian authorities for not charging Mohamad Iqbal in an open court.

"He had to spent two years labelled as an alleged militant. But there is no evidence to suggest he is a militant," she said.

Police say that Malaysia has detained more than 70 Islamic militants, many of them alleged members of JI, which is considered the Southeast Asian arm of al-Qaeda and is blamed for a string of bombings including the Bali blasts in October last year that killed 202 people. - AFP