Human Rights Watch today accused Malaysia of hypocrisy for calling for the closure of the US Guantanamo jail while holding scores of detainees without trial.

The international rights watchdog called on Malaysia to either charge or release those held under the country's tough Internal Security Act, including alleged members of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

"The Malaysian government must charge or release these detainees," said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in February urged the United States to shut down its prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying it was regarded as a torture centre.

"Abdullah has urged the US to close Guantanamo, yet his own government is holding detainees indefinitely without charge or trial," Adams said.

Human Rights Watch has previously alleged that the security act is a "recipe for abuse" and that detainees have been been beaten, humiliated and treated as "less than human" by guards.

100 held

Malaysia holds over 100 people under the legislation, with the majority accused of belonging to militant groups including JI, which is blamed for a string of deadly bomb attacks in Indonesia.

Homegrown rights groups have also urged the government to scrap the act, which allows for two-year detention periods that can be renewed indefinitely.

The government maintains that detention without trial is needed as a first line of defence against terrorism.

Human Rights Watch said that many of the detainees have now been held for more than four years without trial or any judicial review of their cases.

It accused the ruling United Malay National Organisation (Umno) of misusing the act to silence its critics.

"Indefinite detention causes extreme hardship for detainees and their families," said Adams. "It is cruel, contrary to human rights standards, and should end."