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Three of them are below the age of 18 and hence are 'children'

Aliran is deeply concerned with the continued use of the ISA to detain individuals under suspicion of involvement in Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the alleged regional militant Islamic group.

The most recent detainees are students aged between 16 and 21 years of age. They include Ahmad Muaz bin Al Bakry, 20; Muhammad Radzi bin Abdul Razak, 19; Nurul Mohd Fakri bin Mohd Safar, 17; Mohd Akil bin Abdul Raof, 21; Eddy Erman bin Shahime, 19; Muhammad Ariffin bin Zulkarnain, 18; Abi Dzar bin Jaafar, 18; Faiz Hassan bin Kamarulzaman, 17; Mohd Ikhwan Abdullah, 19; Ahmad Firdaus Kamaruddin, 18; Amin Ahmad, 20; Shahrul Nizam Amir Hamzah, 21; and Muhammad Tarmizi Nordin, 16.

These detainees were students of the Abu Bakar Islamic University and University of Islamic Studies in Karachi, Pakistan. Having been previously arrested by Pakistani security forces on suspicion of Islamic militancy, these students were subsequently released in Pakistan and sent home to Malaysia where they were promptly detained under the ISA upon arrival on 10 November 2003 for suspected involvement in militant activities.

Aliran is concerned about the mental and physical well being of these students currently in police custody. Those below the age of 18 are considered to be 'children' according to the Malaysian Child Act 2001. Subjecting a child to arbitrary detention is not in the best interests of the child. It contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Malaysia is a signatory (albeit with reservations).

While understanding the concern of the government regarding militant groups and their activities, there are sufficient laws in the country to deal with such individuals without resorting to the use of arbitrary detention.

Aliran calls upon the Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to either have the students charged in open court or have them released immediately. It really does not bode well for our government when teenagers/children are detained under the ISA. Aliran reiterates its call to abolish the ISA.

Aliran Executive Committee
18 November 2003

This statement was sent to the local media including The Star and the Sun. We have stopped sending statements to the New Straits Times as they have never been carried.