Human Rights Watch today accused the Malaysian government of persecuting a religious sect after its members were detained and its compound, including bizarre structures like a giant teapot, was demolished.

"In its persecution of the Sky Kingdom, the Malaysian government is now denying members of the religious community basic due process rights," the New York-based international rights watchdog said in a statement.

"The Malaysian government is targeting this religious community simply for their beliefs," said its deputy Asia director, Sam Zarifi.

"The government is violating international standards by destroying the Sky Kingdoms religious structures and now threatening to throw the members in jail without a fair trial," he said.

The Sky Kingdom is headed by Ayah Pin, a 65-year-old Malaysian who claims he is God and has attracted a large following among Muslim, Chinese and Indian Malaysians as well as foreign visitors.

His activities have been denounced as contrary to Islam, partly because he says all his followers are free to practice whatever religion they please.

Similarly, a coalition of leading Malaysian rights watchdogs also said they were "alarmed" at the actions against the sect.

"The arrest of Sky Kingdom followers, including women and children, was conducted with no regard to the rights of an individual to liberty and security, and to profess his or her religion and belief," they said in a statement.

The rights coalition said people must be free to change their religion, and if people were losing their faith "the response cannot be persecution and violence but compassion and education".

They also comdemned Sunday's destruction of the cult's compound, which was razed by bulldozers, and said the members had shown themselves to be "peace loving" with their muted response.

Fearing reprisals

Human Rights Watch said that after a raid on the compound last month, 45 members had been charged with violating Islamic precepts and faced fines and jail sentences of up to two years.

Lawyers accredited to appear in Syariah courts have refused to represent them, in some cases because they feared reprisals from religious extremists, it said.

"The right to counsel to prepare a defense in a penal proceeding is an integral component of a fair trial and a fundamental mandate of international human rights law."

In Malaysia the Syariah legal system runs parallel to the civil system, prosecuting religious charges such as blasphemy and heresy.