The Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) has called on the government not to extend the detention orders of five alleged Jemaah Islam (JI) members currently held under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Its secretary Chang Lih Kang (photo left) said in a statement today that the five, Nik Abdul Rahman Mustapha Afifi, Bakkery Mahmud, Abdul Murad Sudin, Zamzuri Sukirman, Sabri Jaafar have been detained for more than two years.

"As such, they should not be imposed with detention orders for another two years. They have been held for two years without trial which is a flagrant violation of human rights," he said.

The two-year detention order of Nik Abdul Rahman, Bakkery and Abdul Murad ended yesterday while that of Zamzur and Sabri will expire at the end of the month.

Chang stressed that if the government thinks that the detainees pose a threat to the country, then they should be charged in an open court.

"Otherwise, we urge the government to release all five detainees without delay and without conditions. The detainees and their families have suffered enough," he said.

The ISA, originally enacted to combat the communist insurgency, has since been used against alleged terrorists as well as opposition leaders and other dissidents.

Detainees are held for a period of two years without trial on the orders of the internal security minister, and this could be extended indefinitely.

No evidence

Chang pointed out that until today, the government and the police have failed to produce any evidence in an open court to prove the involvement of the five in terrorist-linked activities.

"None of them have been proven guilty in any court. Hence, AIM is of the opinion that there are no grounds to detain them further."

He said it would be a shame on the new administration if the detention orders are renewed.

"Extending the detention orders will imply that the recent administration is no different from the old regime, which had cut a very bad impression on the people for its blatant use of the ISA.

"Extension of the detention orders will also expose the incompetence and insincerity of the police force, as the extensions would suggest that the police have failed to obtain sufficient evidence despite being given two years to do so," the AIM statement added.