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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [sangkancil] Amnesty International: Anwar Ibrahim verdict press
release (fwd)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 01:17:41 +0800 (SGT)
From: M G G Pillai <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Sang Kancil <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC: SK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 10:34:23 +0100
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Subject: Amnesty International: Anwar Ibrahim verdict press release
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
8 August 2000
AI Index : ASA 28/009/2000
News Service No. :152
Malaysia: Sodomy verdicts - a major setback for human rights
The sentences passed today against former deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim and his adopted brother, Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja,
highlight
the vulnerability of all Malaysians to selective, politically motivated
prosecutions using restrictive or discriminatory laws -- including those
relating to free speech, to peaceful protest and, in this case, to
sodomy,
Amnesty International said.
Anwar Ibrahim and Sukma Darmawan were found guilty on charges of
sodomy by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur and sentenced to terms of
imprisonment of nine and six years respectively. Sukma Darmawan, being
under 50 years of age, was also sentenced to four strokes of the cane.
The organization considers Anwar Ibrahim a prisoner of conscience,
detained and brought to trial not because of any particular alleged
crime,
but because of his dissenting political activities and the challenge he
posed to government leaders. His co-accused, Sukma Darmawan who is
currently on bail, was prosecuted solely to secure a conviction against
Anwar Ibrahim, and will also be considered a prisoner of conscience
should
he be detained.
"The events following the dismissal from office of Anwar Ibrahim in
1998 have exposed as never before the fragility of human rights
safeguards
in Malaysia," Amnesty International said.
"In order to remove Anwar Ibrahim from political life and to
discredit him publicly, those in power in Malaysia resorted to measures
including the misuse of law, state institutions and the courts, the
ill-treatment of detainees to coerce confessions, and the erosion of the
right to a fair trial."
"In the face of such a challenge the courts have failed to defend
effectively fundamental human rights principles enshrined in the
Malaysian
Constitution and reflected in international human rights law," Amnesty
International added.
The organization is gravely concerned by the perception -- shared
by
many Malaysians -- that in politically sensitive cases the independence
of
the judiciary can no longer be guaranteed.
The need for effective judicial protection is critical in light of
reported patterns of ill- treatment, at times amounting to torture, of
detainees, including those held incommunicado under the Internal
Security
Act (ISA), migrant workers in detention camps, and demonstrators held in
police cells for alleged illegal assembly.
The organization is therefore particularly concerned that
consistent,
credible reports that police subjected at least four detainees to severe
ill-treatment to coerce confessions implicating Anwar Ibrahim have not
been
fully and independently investigated or the suspected perpetrators held
to
account. Sukma Darmawan testified that, during prolonged abusive verbal
interrogation, he was subjected to intense phychological and physical
pressure including being stripped naked in a cold room, struck, sexually
humiliated and threatened with indefinite detention under the ISA.
However,
after hearing testimonies from police, the High Court ruled that the
prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Sukma Darmawan=s
confession was made voluntarily, and was admissible as evidence.
Amnesty International is also concerned that a number of other
events
during the proceedings affected the fairness of the trial. These include
the series of amendments to the charges related to the dates of the
alleged
offences, rulings on the introduction of evidence and calling of
witnesses,
and statements by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that undermined the
presumption of innocence of the accused. The organization urges the
Court
of Appeal to fully address these issues.
Background
Anwar Ibrahim was arrested on 20 September 1998 and initially held
without
charge under the ISA. Subsequently, politically motivated charges of
abuse
of power (allegedly using his office to interfere with police
investigations into alleged sexual offences and sodomy) were filed
against
him. After a trial which Amnesty International considered to be unfair,
Anwar was sentenced in April 1999 to six years in prison. His appeals
were
rejected.
In September 1999 Sukma Darmawan and academic Dr Munawar Anees were
arrested and, after pleading guilty of >having been sodomised= by Anwar
Ibrahim, were sentenced to six months in prison. They later retracted
their
confessions stating they were severely ill-treated to coerce them.
Amnesty International is gravely concerned that instead of
conducting
full, independent and impartial investigations into these allegations
the
authorities have instead filed perjury charges against Sukma Darmawan
and
two others who also alleged ill-treatment by police.
In April 1999 the Attorney-General (Public Prosecutor) informed the
High Court that Anwar Ibrahim and Sukma Darmawan would be jointly tried
on
charges of sodomizing Anwar=s wife=s former driver, Azizan Abu Bakar,
and
that Sukma Darmawan would also be tried at the same time of abetting
Anwar
to sodomize Azizan. The Attorney General chose not at this stage to
charge
Azizan for >having been sodomized= by Anwar Ibrahim and Sukma Darmawan.
The organization remains concerned that the existence of laws
relating
to same-sex relations not only allows the authorities to use alleged
homosexuality as a pretext against political opponents, but also
violates
international human rights, including freedom of conscience, freedom
from
discrimination and the right to privacy. Amnesty International would
consider any person detained solely on the grounds of their real or
perceived sexual orientation to be prisoners of conscience, along side
those detained solely on the grounds of their political, religious or
other
conscienciously held beliefs, or solely by reason of their ethnic
origin,
colour, or gender.
\ENDS
public document
****************************************
For further details, please refer to AI Index (ASA 28/06/99) "Malaysia
-
Human Rights Undermined - Restrictive Laws in a Parliamentary Democracy"
http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aipub/1999/ASA/32800699.htm. For
information
or to arrange an interview, please contact the Amnesty International
press
office in London on +44 207 413 5729.
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