Impose moratorium on Sosma pending review, Suaram urges govt

The government has been urged to impose a moratorium on arresting people under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) while the law undergoes a review.

Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said that Pakatan Harapan had previously promised to review “controversial laws” such as Sosma.

“If a law is clearly controversial, why is it still being used widely?

“We call upon the Home Ministry to immediately place a moratorium on Sosma until it is reviewed.

“Sosma is only a procedural law. You cannot be charged under Sosma. We already have the Penal Code, so use the Penal Code and let the courts decide,” Sevan said at a press conference in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, today.

A number of family members of Sosma detainees were also present at the press conference.

Sevan pointed out that Sosma was originally conceived to tackle crimes related to terrorism and related offences.

However, it is increasingly being used to arrest individuals for other issues such as organised crime and murder.

At the same time, lawyer T Harpal Singh, who represents a number of Sosma detainees, suggested that arrests related to organised crime can be made under Section 130 of the Societies Act instead of Sosma - pending the review.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said in December last year that he was open to reviewing Sosma but there are no plans to do so right now.

He also acknowledged that there are some provisions under Sosma that “cannot remain forever”.

Both Sevan and Harpal pointed out that among the issues with Sosma right now is that bail is rarely granted to those detained under the law.

Harpal said Sosma allows for bail to be given under certain circumstances such as if the person is underaged, a woman or is sick.

However, Sevan said that there have been multiple cases where the detainees had health issues, yet were denied bail after they were charged in court.

Harpal said there needs to be a clearer definition of what is considered sick, as judges have previously ruled that only life-threatening matters fall under that category.

He argued that according to doctors, sick refers to any matters that require professional attention from medical officers.

Besides that, Sevan and Harpal pointed out that court dates given to Sosma cases are often years in waiting, with some detainees waiting up to four years before their case is even heard.

This is due to the court being overwhelmed by other cases, which is why Harpal also suggested the formation of a special court to expedite the handling of Sosma cases.

“I once handled a case related to the smuggling of migrants. The accused was held under remand for four years and six months (without bail).

“After that, he was freed by the court which found him not guilty, but he already was jailed for four years and six months.

“Please review and expedite (the process of reviewing) the law to allow for bail,” Harpal urged.

Sevan added, “If the court finds the persons guilty, but they have been in prison for a few years… that is a clear denial of human rights.”

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