FAC News - Thursday, February 28, 2002 4:42 PM

THE ISA HABEAS CORPUS APPEAL HEARING – Final Day – ISA detainees arrested to gather information

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Court was told today that ten National Justice Party leaders and Reformasi activists were arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) over various dates in April 2001 for purposes of "intelligence gathering".

The ten – National Justice Party Youth Leader Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib, Dr Badrulamin Bahron, Tian Chua, Lokman Noor Adam, N. Gobalakrishnan, Ghani Haroon, Hishamuddin Rais, Badaruddin Ismail and Raja Petra Kamarudin – were "officially" arrested on grounds that they are a "threat to national security".

In a press statement made the first day of the arrests on 10 April 2001, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) said that they had plotted to bring in bombs, guns, grenade launchers and Molotov Cocktails.

Raja Petra and Badaruddin were eventually released after almost two months of daily marathon interrogation sessions while Gobalakrishnan and Ghani were freed by the Shah Alam court that heard their Writ of Habeas Corpus. Six still remain under indefinite detention without trial at the Kamunting Detention Camp.

The defence counsel said that the Prosecutor, Dato Azhar, had admitted on 6 August 2001 that the ten were arrested for purposes of intelligence gathering. By the prosecution’s own admission, the purpose of the arrest was to enable the police to gather information, argued the defence.

"By Dato Azhar’s own concession, the detention (for the purpose of questioning) was clearly outside the scope, and as such, the dominant purpose of section 73."

"Arresting the individual merely for the purpose of gathering intelligence with a view to detaining the person is not authorized under the ISA, or any other legislation for that matter."

"Arresting an individual for that purpose is as such clearly illegal and outside the scope of section 73."