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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Suaram: Deportation of Bourdon 'abuse of power'

Malaysian human rights NGO Suaram has condemned Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's administration for “gross abuse of executive power” in deporting French civil rights lawyer, William Bourdon.

NONESuaram director Cynthia Gabriel (centre) said deporting Bourdon last Friday was the biggest mistake yet by the government as it is an “affront to diplomacy, to international law and common decency”.

The unceremonious manner in which Bourdon was detained and deported was a “totally arbitrary act” by the Home Ministry, and a gross abuse of executive power by the Najib administration, added Cynthia.

The Immigration Department has justified its action by saying that the lawyer was deported for violating the conditions of his social visit pass to Malaysia.

NONECynthia said Bourdon (left) was representing Suaram in the ongoing investigations in France over irregularities involved in the Malaysian government's RM7.3 billion purchase of two Scorpene class submarines from French defence giant DCNS in 2002.

Last Thursday night, Bourdon was in Penang to give a briefing on the case to over 600 participants of a fundraising dinner dubbed 'Ops Scorpene' organised by Suaram.

The main thrust of his speech centred around the assurance that beneficiaries of corruption would be publicly exposed should the case go to open court in France in September.

Bourdon was scheduled to speak during two other similar events in Petaling Jaya and Ipoh, but was nabbed inside the aircraft as his plane landed at the KL International Airport last Friday morning.

Bourdon was reportedly kept from seeing his fiancee, Lea Foriester, also a lawyer, for several hours and denied access to legal representation, pending his flight out to Paris some 12 hours later.

Cynthia said Bourdon was not informed about the reasons for his sudden detention and subsequent deportation.

'Denied opportunity to defend himself'

He was denied any opportunity to defend himself, was asked to sign deportation orders in Bahasa Malaysia, and told that he would be held for three nights as his flight home was initially scheduled for July 24.

Bourdon refused to accept any such unreasonable conditions, and made arrangements to fly out the very same night itself, said Cynthia.

“Such an action by the Malaysian authorities and the behaviour of our immigration officials have surely damaged beyond repair all attempts by the Tourism Ministry to sell Malaysia abroad,” she added.

mongolian woman bombed altantuya 081106“This clumsy attempt to silence the truth about the Scorpene scandal and the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu only serves to fortify the belief that the prime minister and his government is inextricably linked with the scandal,” she added.

Altantuya, a Mongolian national, was murdered in October 2006 when her body was blown to smithereens in a jungle clearing in Shah Alam by two of Najib's former bodyguards, who are currently appealing their death sentence.

She was also believed to be romantically involved with Najib's close confidante and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was released in 2007 from charges of abetting in her murder without his defence being called.

In 2008, Parliament was told that the deal netted Perimekar, an obscure consulting company, RM540 million (€114 million), but it was allegedly not “commissions”.

Perimekar is a subsidiary of KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, and the major shareholder in this company is allegedly Abdul Razak's wife, Maslinda Makhzan.

Najib was then deputy prime minister and defence minister in charge of the procurement of the submarines, but he has denied ever being involved in the murder of Altantuya.

A French probe has revealed that the travels of both Abdul Razak and Altantuya to Hong Kong and Macau with an unidentified third person had been paid by a shady company in Malta.

Cynthia also criticised Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's immediate response to Bourdon's deportation, claiming that Suaram and the DAP have “utilised and victimised” the lawyer.

Ahmad Zahid has insisted that the acquisition of submarines was transparent and that he was willing to testify in court.

'Bourdon only came to brief his clients'

“This merely exposes Zahid's ignorance of Bourdon's reputation on the international stage and his ignorance of the French judicial system,” said Gabriel.

NONE“Bourdon (right in photo, with Foriester) did not come to defend the case in Malaysia; he only came to brief his clients, Suaram and the Malaysian public about the ongoing case in France,” he added.

Meanwhile, Suaram was not convinced by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's statement that Bourdon's deportation was “not political”.

“It is unconvincing as Immigration officials had repeatedly asked Bourdon about his speech in Penang the night before,” noted Cynthia.

She said Suaram has been very transparent about its objectives in pursuing this case in the French courts.

She added that French taxpayers have an equal interest in getting to the bottom of the scandal involving commissions given to officials in both countries which will then provide the motive for the murder of Altantuya.

“We are gratified that the defence minister has already said that he is ready to testify in the French courts when the time comes,” she quipped.

However, some quarters are of the opinion that Zahid's testimony would be less relevant as the defense minister in charge of the procurement of the submarines during the critical juncture was Najib himself.

Cynthia urge the government to explain to Malaysians its “shameful” action in detaining and deporting Bourdon and give assurances that there will be full cooperation when the case goes to open court in France.- Malaysiakini

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