7 November 2017
RELEASE ALL MINORS DETAINED WITHOUT TRIAL IMMEDIATELY
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) is
shocked by the revelation in Parliament that 142 minors were detained without
trial under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA) and 17 minors under the Security
Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA). SUARAM strongly condemn the
existence and application of laws that permit detention without trial and demand
for the immediate release of all minors detained under SOSMA and POCA.
Reflecting on the gruesome allegations
of torture and abuse suffered by detainees under SOSMA and POCA; and the
systematic use of solitary confinement for detainees under SOSMA, SUARAM is
shocked that the Malaysian government consider it necessary for minors to be
subjected to detention in these conditions under SOSMA and POCA.
The government must provide an
immediate answer to the public with regards to the condition of detention these
minors are subjected to and provide clear answers as to why it was necessary
for these minors to be detained under security provisions and not subjected to
trial in the Court for Children outlined in Section 83(1) of the Child Act 2001
SUARAM reminds the government that
under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which
Malaysia is a party to, minors have the right to be trialed by a competent,
independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing [Article
40(2)(iii) of UNCRC]. This is not a mere international standard that the government
can set aside on a whim as it is given force through the Child Act 2001 in
Malaysia.
To this end, SUARAM calls for:
1)
All
minors detained under SOSMA and POCA to be released immediately;
2)
Royal
Commission of Inquiry to established to investigate the unconscionable decision
to allow minors to be detained without trial.
Any criminal motions against minors
MUST be dealt with through the existing legal provisions outlined under the
Child Act 2001 and in-line with UNCRC and not to the whims of the government
and the Royal Malaysian Police. SUARAM reiterate our stance that laws
permitting detention without trial have no place in a democratic state and must
be abolished immediately.
In
Solidarity
Sevan Doraisamy
Executive Director
SUARAM
Sevan Doraisamy
Executive Director
SUARAM
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