Malaysia said Tuesday it has freed five alleged members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group, saying they have been rehabilitated during years in detention without trial.
Malaysia said it has freed five alleged members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group, saying they have been rehabilitated during years in detention without trial. JI, a regional outfit linked to Al-Qaeda, has been blamed for major attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings. However, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the five were no longer considered a threat to national security.
JI, a regional outfit linked to Al-Qaeda, has been blamed for major attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings. However, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the five were no longer considered a threat to national security.
He said their release came ahead of celebrations for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, and that it was not linked to the government's campaign for a contentious by-election next month.
"Their release today was to give them an opportunity to celebrate Aidilfitri with their respective families and has nothing to do with the by-election for the Bagan Pinang state seat," Hishammuddin told state media.
The five detainees, identified as Abdullah Daud, Mat Sah Mohamad Satray, Ahmad Kamil Mohamad Hanapiah, Mohamad Nasir Ismail and Muhammad Amir Mohamad Hanapiah, had been in detention for between two and seven years.
They were held under Malaysia's controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for indefinite detention without trial and has been used against alleged terrorists as well as government opponents in the past.
The wife of Mat Sah, 44-year-old Norlaila Othman, said she was thrilled at the release of her husband who has been in custody since April 2002.
"I am so excited yet at the same time I feel like I am going to live with a stranger in the same house soon," she told AFP.
"My son is really excited to find out who is his real dad, he was only eight years old when my husband was detained under the ISA, seven years is too long for him to be apart from his dad," Norlaila said.
Hishammuddin said that with the release of the five, only nine people are being held under the ISA -- well down on numbers of the past.
However, the rights group campaigning for the abolition of the security law demanded that the government free all the remaining detainees immediately.
"We call this a selective release. We demand that the rest be released and for the ISA to be abolished," Abolish ISA Movement coordinator E. Nalini told AFP.
The ISA dates back to the British colonial era when it was originally designed to be used against communist insurgents.
Since premier Najib Razak took power in April with a reform agenda, there have been a series of ISA releases including that of five ethnic Indian activists who were detained after organising anti-government protests in 2007.
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