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Malaysian ex-detainee wins record damages

AFP | 12 June 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian businessman who was held without trial for three years under a tough security law has won a record $1m compensation in a verdict welcomed by activists yesterday.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court awarded 3.3 million ringgit in damages to Badrul Zaman P S Mohamed on Thursday after declaring that his three-year detention from 1991 was unlawful and unconstitutional, state news agency Bernama reported.

Badrul was held under Malaysia’s controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial, over his alleged involvement in issuing fake travel documents to foreign workers.

“I think it’s a harsh and oppressive act on the part of the deputy minister,” Judge Mohamad Hishamudin Mohamad Yunus said, referring to the minister who ordered his detention, Bernama reported.

Badrul and his lawyer could not be reached for comment.

The ISA, which dates back to the British colonial era, was originally intended to be used against communist insurgents but has been used against alleged terrorists as well as government opponents in recent years.

Activists lauded the verdict, saying it bolstered their campaign to abolish the law and to seek the release of current ISA detainees.

“We welcome this landmark decision. If you read the judgement, you will find there is no justification to use the ISA anymore — it is time to repeal the ISA,” the Abolish ISA Movement coordinator E Nalini said.

“Detention without trial is unconstitutional. Everyone has the right to have a fair trial under the constitution,” she added.

June 13, 2010 - Posted by | Civil Liberties

1 Comment

  1. A good way of making business, all expenses paid for unlawful detention with compensation.

    Like

    Comment by abe nagano | June 13, 2010


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