GERAKAN REFORMASI RAKYAT |
PRESS RELEASE MAYDAY FOR JUSTICE!
Second anniversary of Anwar Ibrahim’s imprisonment in Malaysia
20th September is the second anniversary for the arrest of Anwar
Ibrahim the deposed Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister in Mahathir’s government.
He was arrested under the ISA (Internal Security Act), which is famous as being
a tool used by the government to curb and silence the opposition in Malaysia.
On 29th September 1998 Ibrahim was brought to court where he
appeared in public showing visible signs of beatings on his face. Later a Royal
Commission of Enquiry heard the confession of the former chief of police in
punching and slapping Anwar Ibrahim while he was blindfolded and handcuffed.
Anwar Ibrahim's dismissal sparked mass demonstrations calling for wide-ranging
political and social reform and for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad.
University students and Ibrahim’s followers clashed with the
police on a regular basis during the first few weeks of his detention and
imprisonment. Police in riot gear took action in beating the protesters and
passers-by that were curious. In one incident police with long rattan sticks
beat up an elderly lady who was selling cakes for tea. An elderly man who was
around at the time tried to help the lady but was beaten as well.
In addition to the beatings police made random arrests, which
included innocent passers-by and put them in crowded jail cells in and around
the capital, Kuala Lumpur. Police brutality was evident when the accused were
all brought to court. Allegations include being kicked, punched and beaten with
sticks while they were under detention in police stations.
On 14 April 1999 Anwar Ibrahim was found guilty of four charges
of corrupt practice. He was sentenced to six years jail on each of the charges,
and a further nine years for his conviction of sodomy in August 2000. Former
Chief Justice Tun Salleh Abbas, sacked from his post in the late 1980s for
criticising Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir, famously ‘cried out’
Mayday for Justice. Over a decade later, little has changed.
The chairman of Islamic Human Rights Commission Massoud
Shadjareh in a statement said:
“IHRC is very concerned regarding his imprisonment from
1998. There is a consensus both within Malaysia and the international community
that this shows the trial and the convictions were based on politics rather than
justice.”
IHRC calls all the relevant authorities in Malaysia to adhere to
international human rights standards.
For more information please contact the Press Office on (+44) 20
8902 0888 or (+44) 958 522 196.
19th September 2000
Islamic Human Rights Council
19 September 2000