The Bar Council today said the Shah Alam High Court decision yesterday that the provisions of the Internal Security Act (ISA) should be reviewed was consistent with the legal body's constant call for the law to be abolished altogether.

Council vice-chairman Roy Rajasingham said the body, representing about 10,000 lawyers, welcomed justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus decision to allow the habeas corpus applications made by two Keadilan leaders, N Gobalakrishnan and Abdul Ghani Haroon, and rule that their detention was unlawful.

The duo were among 10 reformasi activists detained by the police under the ISA beginning April 10 for allegedly being a threat to national security and planning to overthrow the government via "militant means".

Hishamudin also said that "it is high time" for Parliament to reconsider the relevance of ISA so as to prevent and minimise abuses of law by the authorities.

Obsolete law

Rajasingham said the abolition of the Act was most imperative for the advancement of the rule of law.

"The 1960 Act in the present-day context is not only antiquated but draconian especially with regard to detention without trial," he added.

He also said that the council agreed with Hishamudin's ruling that the detention of the two were done in bad faith as they were denied access to family members and lawyers.

Rajasingham said that a denial of a right of a person to legal access was a blatant violation of the detainee's constitutional right.

He also urged the government to repeal the ISA expeditiously and that all ISA detainees be given immediate legal access upon detention.

Courageous decision

Meanwhile, the ISA Hunger Strike Committee in a press statement said that the decision of the High Court was a brave one.

"The judge has refused to allow the police to be nonchalant about the law and scrutinised the reasons put forward by the police for the arrests and have found them wanting," the committee said.

"However, the triumph of justice may be short-lived as the release was secured on technical grounds and police have been allowed in past cases to re-arrest detainees released this way," it added.

A small group of group members gathered outside the court house at about 12 noon to pay tribute to Hishamudin. They carried banners which read: "We appreciate the independence of the judiciary" and "Free ISA detainees, abolish ISA".

The group also tied red and yellow banners on a flagpole and pin posters of detainees on the fence around the court complex.

The Hunger Strike Committee was set up recently by concerned citizens to educate the public on the ISA, which allows detention without trial. The group has been on a day-long hunger strike programme since May 10, a month after the initial arrests.

Police to appeal against decision

Meanwhile, national news agency Bernama reported today that Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai has filed a notice of appeal against the Shah Alam Court's decision yesterday.

The notice was filed by Senior Federal Counsel Abdul Wahab Mohamed at the Shah Alam Court registry.

The appeal will be heard by the Federal Court.