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Amnesty Assails Malaysia's Human Rights Record

Date: 02 Sep 1999
Time: 20:23:58
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Amnesty Assails Malaysia's Human Rights Record KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Human rights group Amnesty International has accused the Malaysian government of undermining basic human rights in a report released one year after former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim was sacked.

The London-based rights group said in a statement that political turmoil over the past year demonstrated the degree to which safeguards protecting human rights had been consistently eroded over many years.

``Step by step, the Malaysian government has undermined constitutional protection, weakened key institutions and put in place an array of restrictive laws that stifle public debate and dissent,'' it said.

The statement summarized a report on Malaysia by Amnesty International, which has been a longstanding critic of the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir fired Anwar on September 2, 1998, and later accused him of sex crimes. Anwar was arrested on September 20, and later sentenced to six years in jail for corruption. He is currently standing trial on one count of sodomy.

Anwar says he was the victim of a plot by Mahathir and his associates to sideline him from power.

Amnesty called Anwar a prisoner of conscience and ``the latest in a long line of people jailed for their peaceful criticism of the government.''

The rights group said individuals had been jailed for peaceful criticism of authorities. ``Reports of beatings and ill treatment in detention are common, and for the most part have not been investigated by authorities,'' it said.

Anwar was hit by the then police chief on the night he was arrested. Ex-police chief Abdul Rahim Noor has said Anwar provoked him into hitting the former deputy prime minister.

Last week the trial of the police chief, who has been charged with attempting to cause grievous hurt to Anwar, was postponed until next year. It had been scheduled to start on September 20 -- exactly one year from the date of the assault.

Anwar's adopted brother and a former speechwriter have said police coerced them last year into pleading guilty to having been sodomized by Anwar. Police have denied the accusations.

Amnesty said Irene Fernandez, head of a women's labor movement, was on trial for publishing a report alleging abuse in detention camps for immigrants.

It also cited Lim Guan Eng, a former member of parliament and son of opposition leader Lim Kit Siang who was released from prison last week after serving one year of an 18-month jail sentence for sedition. He will barred from political office for at least five years.

Amnesty said provisions of restrictive laws had been tightened, and called on the government to bring legislation into line with international standards.


Last changed: September 02, 1999