Prosecution lawyers today raised two preliminary objections to the habeas corpus applications by nine of 13 Karachi students presently detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged terror links.

Deputy public prosecutor Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that one of the objections is that the affidavits submitted by the applicants' lawyers had been affirmed only by their mothers and lawyer but not by them personally.

He referred to Section 367 of the Criminal Procedure Code which states that affidavits submitted in court should be made by the persons detained unless he or she is unable to make it by reason of restraint or coercion.

Nik Suhaimi said since parents of the students had been given access to visit them earlier this week, the students should have been asked to sign their own affidavits.

The DPP also claimed that the age of three of the detainees could not be verified based on their identity card numbers without submission of proof of the birth certificates.

"If the court decides that the affidavits are defective, then this is a motionless case," he said to Justice Abdul Kadir Musa.

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.

Solitary confinement

The question of the age of the students is of paramount consideration in this habeas corpus application because three of the detainees are under the age of 18.

Under the Child Act 2001, any person under the age of 18 cannot be held under police detention without being brought before a court of law within 24 hours.

Responding to these objections, the applicants' counsel Edmund Bon said it was unreasonable to expect the detainees to put up their own affidavits since the students are being held at an unknown location.

"We don't even know where the students are being held. They have been placed in solitary confinement under the ISA.

"Furthermore, the police only allowed family members to visit the students. The family members would not know the legal issues involved and they would not have been able to bring a commissioner of oath to the meeting," he said.

(Court affidavits have to be signed by the applicants in front of a Commissioner of Oath.)

After hearing out the counsel for about 30 minutes, the judge said he will fix the case to continue tomorrow morning. Abdul Kadir said he may also call for the lawyers to enter into the substantive arguments for the case on Sunday if he finds no defects in the affidavits.

Violation of Child Act

Speaking to reporters after the adjournment, another lawyer for the applicants Edward Saw said the court will hear tomorrow arguments on the preliminary objections raised by the respondents and if these are rejected by the court, the case would go into substantive arguments on the legality of the ISA detention of the three underaged youths.

"The court will go on to hear whether the use of the ISA for persons under the age of 18 is in contravention of the Child Act. If the court finds in favour of this argument, it has to order for the students to be released," he said.

Meanwhile, parents of several students turned up in court today to follow the proceedings.

Noor Ishah Salleh, mother to the youngest detainee - 16-year-old Mohd Tarmizi Nordin - said she had high hopes for her son to be released.

Asked about her visit to her son at the Bukit Aman police headquarters on Tuesday, she said she met Tarmizi for about 30 minutes and he told her that he was able to take care of himself.

Her husband Nordin Ahmad, a former production executive, has also been detained under the ISA since 2001 on allegation that he is a member of regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah.

But on his reaction to the allegation against their son, Noor Ishah said Nordin was "shocked" by it.

Nordin has also filed a habeas corpus application seeking his release in September. The case is now pending before the KL High Court.

Also present were the parents of 17-year-old Nurul Mohd Fakri Mohd Safar, 21-year-old Mohd Akil Abdul Raof and 19-year old Mohd Radzi Abdul Razak.

Nurul's father said his son had been studying in Pakistan since 2001 and before that at a religious school in Johor.

Questioned about the allegation against Nurul, he said he had no idea why the government would accuse his son of participating in such activities.

The detained students, dubbed the 'Karachi 13', were first arrested in the Pakistani port city in late September on suspicion of being involved in militant activities, but were later released.

Upon their arrival in Kuala Lumpur last Monday, they were arrested by police who claimed that the students, aged between 16 and 25, could have been trained as the next generation of JI leaders.