Nine of the 13 students alleged to be linked with terror groups today filed their habeas corpus applications to the Kuala Lumpur High Court seeking their release from Internal Security Act (ISA) detention.

The nine named the inspector-general of police, home minister and the Malaysian government as respondents.

Habeas corpus

is a writ ordering prisoners to be brought before a court or judge to ascertain if there are any procedural defects which could render their detention unlawful.

Contacted today, one of the lawyers representing the students, Edmund Bon said the applications were filed this morning and the registry office has fixed tomorrow for the preliminary hearing.

The nine are Mohd Tarmizi Nordin, Faiz Hassan Kamarulzaman, Nurul Mohd Fakri Mohd Safar, Muhammad Radzi Abdul Razak, Ahmad Muaz Al-Bakry, Mohd Akil Abdul Raof, Eddy Erman Shahime, Muhammad Ariffin Zulkarnian and Abi Dzar Jaafar.

The remaining four did not instruct the lawyers to file similar applications, said Bon.

Apart from Bon, other lawyers representing the students include Amer Hamzah Arshad, Edward Saw and Latheefa Koya.

The legal team will also visit the nine tomorrow at the Bukit Aman police headquarters after the police has granted a rare legal access to them.

The 13 - dubbed Karachi 13 - are aged between 16 and 25, and were arrested upon their return from Pakistan last Monday after spending more than a month in the custody of authorities there.

he students were arrested in Karachi in late September on suspicion of being involved in militant activities, but were cleared and released later.

However, Malaysian police arrested the group upon their arrival in Kuala Lumpur, claiming that the youths could have undergone militant training while in Pakistan.

Numerous quarters have criticised the detention of the 13 under the security law which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

Detention without proof

A student organisation joined in the fray today to pressure the government to release the 13 in view of the coming Hari Raya celebration.

The National Undergraduates Action Front (Barisan Bertindak Mahasiswa Negara or BBMN) said the students, who are all Muslims, should be released and allowed to return home. Hari Raya is next week.

"This demand is not politically motivated, but it takes into account the obligation of a Muslim and humanitarian concerns," said the organisation in a statement.

Moreover, BBMN said the arrests of the group were based on political motives since it was done without concrete proof.

"This (claim) is established since their arrests were made based on the information obtained from the investigation against Hambali and his brother."

Hambali, whose full name is Gun Rustam Gunawan, is the alleged mastermind of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah (JI). Hambali's brother was one of two other Indonesians arrested together with the Karachi 13.

BBMN said the arrests under the ISA failed to deal with the root cause of terrorism but adversely erode the confidence of the people towards the government since the latter simply invoke an arbitrary act against its political dissent.

The student organisation said the government should also act in response to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia's (Suhakam) call. BBMN urged Sukaham to protect the rights of the Karachi 13.

On Monday, the commission said it will investigate whether the detention of the 13 is in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - which was also ratified by Malaysia.

BBMN also expressed their worry whether the students could resume their studies. The organisation cited the experience of the seven university students, or ' ISA 7 ', who were charged following their arrests for allegedly participating in an anti-ISA demonstration.

The seven were later suspended by their respective universities under the Universities and University Colleges Act and still could not resume their studies after two years now.

"We are worry the same will repeat on the 13 ISA detainee students."

Igbal files application too

Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, terror suspect Mohamad Iqbal A Rahman has also filed a habeas corpus application seeking his release from detention under the immigration department. He is currently held at the Ajil detention centre in Terengganu.

The application was filed through Messrs Chooi & Co at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, said human rights body Suaram in a statement.

He named the immigration department, home minister and the Malaysian government as the respondents.

Mohd Iqbal, an Indonesia-born former religious teacher who obtained a permanent resident (PR) status in 1985, was among the first batch of suspected Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia members detained in August 2001 under the ISA.

Days before the expiry of the two-year detention order, he was informed that he faced imminent deportation following the revocation of his PR status by immigration authorities where the home ministry has declared him as "undesirable immigrant".

However last Tuesday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted leave to Mohd Iqbal to file judicial review proceedings to quash the government's decision in revoking his PR status.