The European Parliament (EP) has called upon the Malaysian government to fulfill its international human rights obligations and guarantee the right to freedom of expression in the country by abolishing the Internal Security Act (ISA).

In a resolution passed on Thursday, the European Parliament called upon Malaysia to adhere to the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"We deplore the fact that the Malaysian authorities continue to resort to the ISA to detain political opponents and human rights activists, and by doing so deny them access to justice in an open court of law," said the EP resolution.

"Release the detainees or charge them in court and ensure that they are promptly and fairly tried," it added.

The resolution also urged the European Union (EU) and its member states to put pressure on the government to respect human rights and to address the issue during the next EU-Malaysia meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 5 and 6.

The European Parliament is made of 626 representatives, elected every five years, from 15 Europe countries.

The parliament has steadily acquired greater influence and power through a series of treaties.

These treaties, particularly the 1992 Maastricht Treaty and the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty, have transformed the European Parliament from a purely consultative assembly into a legislative parliament, exercising powers similar to those of national parliaments.

ISA frequently used

The European Parliament resolution stated that the human rights situation in Malaysia has deteriorated rapidly largely because of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's "determination to crush his political rivals".

It added that the government had frequently used the ISA, which allows detention without trial, to arrest political opponents and human rights activists, while detainees have been subjected to physical abuse, intense mental pressure and sometimes torture.

The resolution stated that in addition to the ISA, Article 149 of the Malaysian Constitution has given legitimacy to other laws such as Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance of 1969 and the Dangerous Drugs (Special Prevention Measures) Act of 1985 to detain Malaysians without trial for alleged criminal offences.

According to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), over 40 people are currently being detained under the ISA.

This month, six reformasi activists - Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua, party youth leaders Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib and Lokman Noor Adam, supreme council member Dr Badrul Amin Bahron and malaysiakini columnist-cum film-maker Hishamuddin Rais - were sent to the Kamunting detention camp in Perak for a two-year detention period under the ISA on orders of Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.