Families of Sosma detainees go on hunger strike outside prison

Relatives of detainees under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) are staging a hunger strike outside Sungai Buloh prison.

They are demanding that the detainees - who are being imprisoned without trial - be freed.

According to The Star, about 100 family members of 69 Sosma detainees are taking part in the strike.

About 34 of the detainees are reportedly being held at Sungai Buloh while the remainder are being held in Alor Setar, Kedah.

Sosma is a controversial law which allows up to 28 days of detention.

Among others, the law also allowed for a police officer not below the rank of the superintendent to deny a detainee access to their next of kin or lawyer for up to 48 hours if there were reasonable grounds to do so.

Klang MP V Ganabatirau, who met with the hunger strikers and expressed solidarity with them, hoped the government would intervene soon.

"Being myself an ex-detainee of the Internal Security Act who was detained without trial for 495 days, I can't stand watching the families' grief and tears.

"Hopefully the government will solve this agony soon by providing immediate solutions, as Pakatan Harapan always stands against detention without trial," he said in a Facebook post today.

The government has said it was planning to "review" Sosma provision; however human rights activists are pushing for a complete repeal.

Meanwhile, Sungai Buloh MP R Ramanan who visited the hunger strikers said the group is demanding the government to commit to a date to solve their problems.

According to the PKR representative, the families have mixed demands, including seeking the release of their family members, for the detainees to be charged in court as soon as possible instead of prolonged detention under Sosma, and the repeal of Sosma.

"What I could do was only help relay their message to Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. I have contacted the minister, who promised to look into the matter.

"I have also spoken to the Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim) before I went to visit them. I told the group that the prime minister gave his words to look into the matter, but the group said they will go ahead with the hunger strike until they get a definitive answer," he told Malaysiakini.

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