The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) must urge the police to allow lawyers to have unmonitored access to the seven students held under the Internal Security Act, said the Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) today.

The students were among those - dubbed the 'Karachi 13' - arrested for terror related charges last month. Four have since been released while two others, who are still in custody, have decided not to pursue action.

AIM secretary Yap Swee Seng said the students were also 'intimidated' by the police and they were now reluctant in pursuing their case.

He said this during a meeting with Suhakam secretary Kamaruddin Mohd Baria at the commission's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The legal team representing the seven were granted access twice on Nov 21 and yesterday but complained that the meetings were closely monitored by the police.

The lawyers said police personnel were seated in the same room within earshot.

Undue pressure

Yap said such moves would render legal consultation meaningless as it is carried out in an 'intimidating environment'.

He added that the police presence put undue pressure on the students when replying questions from their lawyers.

The police, together with the home minister and the government, have been named as respondents in the students' habeas corpus applications to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Reiterating what was related by the lawyers, Yap said during their meeting, the students would pause and look at the police personnel before answering any question.

He claimed that the police presence was one of the factors which led two of the students not to sign their affidavits after the court ordered them to resubmit the applications due to technicality defects.

'Lock-up procedure'

One of the lawyers, Edward Saw also told the Suhakam official about his meeting with the students.

He said when he asked one of the detainees whether he is in a position to sign the affidavit, the detainee looked at the police personnel despite the latter telling him to consult Saw.

"I am not drawing any conclusions but the situation showed that the detainee was not exercising his free will to decide whether to sign his own affidavit. The presence of the police influence their decision," he said.

He said the legal team was previously assured that the meetings would follow 'lock-up' procedure whereby the police will only observe from a distance and not within earshot.

Other issues highlighted by AIM, was the insufficient time were given for the consultation session and the short notice to lawyers on the approval of legal access.

They also detailed their complaints in a memorandum that was received by Kamaruddin, who stressed that Suhakam will step-up the pressure in calling for the students release.

He said the commission had immediately opposed the use of ISA to detain the students when they were arrested on Nov 11 upon their return from Pakistan. They were previously held under detention by Pakistani authorities.

The students have been accused of being groomed as the next leaders of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

.However, Suhakam has yet to ascertain whether the arrests are in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child since some of the students are below 18.