WASHINGTON - A US-based human rights group today urged the Malaysian authorities to allow independent monitors access to detainees held under a draconian law, alleging they have been subjected to serious abuse.

Human Rights Watch released a 60-page report documenting a pattern of "serious abuses" against detainees, including beatings, burning with lit cigarettes, and psychological abuse.

Some detainees held under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial, were subjected to sexually humiliating interrogations and were forced to stand semi-naked for long periods, said the report.

One detainee was told to masturbate in front of prison officials, and another was forced to urinate while interrogators watched, said the report entitled "In the Name of Security: Counterterrorism and Human Rights Abuses Under Malaysia's Internal Security Act."

Another detainee was allegedly beaten in the genitals.

Human Rights Watch urged the Malaysian authorities to allow independent monitors to visit the nearly 100 men held under the law, some for nearly three years on accusations of connections to terrorist groups.

It also wanted the government to begin a full investigation into the issue and to either charge or release all of the detainees.

"US abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo shows what can happen behind closed doors," said Sam Zarifi, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch.

"Malaysia needs to let independent observers into its detention centers to prevent further abuses against prisoners."

Legal rights denied

In addition to suffering from various forms of physical and psychological abuse, ISA detainees have been denied basic due process rights, the group charged.

In the first several weeks after their arrest, detainees could not see a lawyer, and many were threatened with punishment for even trying to legally challenge their detention, it said.

The report also detailed how practices at the US-run Guantanamo detention facility in Cuba ( pix ) for terrorist suspects had influenced the treatment of ISA detainees in Malaysia.

"Malaysian officials regularly claimed that the abuses at Guantanamo give them license to engage in similar practices," it said.

At the same time, the group added, Malaysian interrogators used Guantanamo as a threat: "Detainees who refused to cooperate with Malaysian security officials were told they could be transferred to US custody at Guantanamo."

Zarifi said: "The Malaysian government uses Guantanamo as a sword and a shield.

"Abuses by US authorities in the war on terror give cover to governments that abuse their own citizens."

Previously, the United States was extremely critical of ISA detentions but since the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, senior US officials have praised the detentions and referred to Malaysia as a beacon of stability, Human Rights Watch said.

It urged Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who had condemned the United States for abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, to abolish the ISA, or substantially amend it to make it consistent with global human rights norms. - AFP