At least nine detainees charged under the Security Offences Special Measures Act (Sosma) most probably confessed under pressure, says a human rights lawyer.

 

The methods used include false promises, emotionally breaking them down, putting them under continuous interrogation and physical violence, Farida Mohamad, a volunteer lawyer with Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) said.

 

Suaram highlighted the plight of Sosma detainees in a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today, including that of a family of five whose parents were arrested and charged under Section 130 (J) of the Penal Code.

 

The detained parents were forced to confess as they were given an ultimatum, Farida ( seated left ) said.

In handing Suaram's memorandum to Suhakam today, Suaram coordinator Syukri Razab highlighted the plight of the family of five.

 

Farida said: "They (the parents) told me they were forced to make a choice, if they confessed, their children (aged 19 and 21) will be released. It's like an ultimatum,” she said.

 

On Oct 13, Bukit Aman Counter-Terrorism Unit arrested 14 individuals, including a family of five, who were all suspected of being involved with the militant group Islamic State (IS).

The youngest of the family of five is 14 years old. They were arrested at a restaurant in Shah Alam.

Of the 14, Farida said, six were allegedly forced to confess, while seven were freed. One more did not confess, but is charged under the Penal Code.

The seven who were freed, including the 19 and 21 year-old, were released on Nov 11, 28 days after been detained.

Syukri said the family was then in the restaurant meeting up with someone to inquire about safety in Turkey, as they had plans to join in an entrepreneurial event there.

The man they were meeting turned out to be Rohaimi Abdul Razak, who is suspected of running the blog Revolusi Islam.com, and having links with IS.

Police used the children to force confession

At first, the parents told Farida they did not want to make any confession, but they relented in the end when the police used their children as leverage.

The 14-year-old, who was released a day after the arrest, was called to Bukit Aman with his 15-year-old sister, without any reason given.

Syukri said they were taken to see their parents before being escorted into a room to be interrogated, without a legal adviser or a representative present.

"After the parents were repeatedly questioned, every day for 28 days, they relented and confessed that they wanted to go to Syria," she said adding that the police had initially asked them to confess before using the children as bait.

Suhakam deputy secretary Nurul Hasanah Ahamed expressed great worry when the details about the children being interrogated without a guardian were brought up.

"Suhakam views this great worry that the children were interrogated without any oversight," Nurul Hasanah said while being seated with Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam and a complaints officer.

However, the human rights organisation said it cannot interfere once the matter is brought to court but it can observe if the methods used follow the rule of law or not.

Suaram highlighted several things which it said breached human rights and showed abuse of power by the authorities.

Detainees physically absed as well

"Based on our information, there are several things the police did that violated the rights of the detainees. Firstly, they were told not to speak to us and to only get a lawyer provided by them.

"(Next), the meetings and conversations with family members were interfered with by the police, and the families of the detainees were threatened if they requested for a different date to attend the questioning," he said.

Syukri added that he was also informed the detainees were physically abused.

"Some of the men were slapped and had their hair pulled during interrogation, while the women were forced to squat if they refused to cooperate," he said.

Thus, Syukri called on Suhakam to visit the detention centres and to start an inquiry to investigate the claims by the detainees. Suhakam, he said, also must urge the Homer Ministry to abolish Sosma.