Petition to UN Human Right Commission to Abolish ISA

30 March, 2008.

Ms Louise Arbour
Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights UNOG-OHCHR
1211 Geneva 10,
SWITZERLAND.

Dear Ms Louise Arbour,

Re: Appeal for the immediate release of ISA detainee Mat Sah Bin Mohammed Satray whom been detained for 6 years and all other detainee under draconian law ISA.

I am writing to strongly urge you to lobby for the immediate release of Mat Sah Bin Mohammed Satray,who has been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since 17 April 2002.He is currently being held at the Kamunting Detention Centre in the state of Perak, Malaysia. He and 100 other ISA detainees have been accused of being members of Jemaah Islamiyyah(JI) and of participating in subversive activities against the government.However, no evidence has been produced to substantiate these allegations.

Mat Sah and hundred other ISA detainees must be given recourse to a fair trial in conformity with international standards of due process and access to full legal repsentation and family members. We are against any act of terrorism,whether perpetuated by Muslim or Non Muslim. But if no evidence is found against a detainee, he/ she should be released without delay, as holding them indefinitely merely on the basis of suspicion is a blatan violation of due process.

I am also quite concerned about the fact that the ISA detainees have been physically abused and harassed in the past and being forced to live in small cells and under strict regimes.I ask that you ensure that Mat Sah and the rest of the ISA detainees are treated according to the international human rights standards. Human rights organizations and NGOs should be given immediate and full access to the Kamunting Detention Centre.

Most importantly, I strongly urge you to lobby the Malaysian government to abolish the ISA under which many such innocent people have been held in the past and are still being currently detained without charge, or legal representation, merely on the basis of suspicion.

I look forward to hearing from you on this matter.