SUNGAI BULOH: More than 50 relatives of those detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) gathered outside the Sungai Buloh prison, in Selangor, as early as 6am today, with many – including children – going on a hunger strike to protest the continued incarceration of their loved ones.
The families had come out in support of 69 detainees – 34 in Sungai Buloh prison and 35 in Alor Setar prison – who started their hunger strike on Sunday, calling for an end to their detention. Some of the detainees have been held for up to three years without trial.
The protesters demanded the government release the detainees, adding that some of them were their families’ sole breadwinners and it had not been easy to get by without their income.
Megha Vinothini, 38, whose husband is one of the detainees, said it had been a long wait without any justice.
“I am somewhat lucky as my two oldest children are able to do odd jobs,” she told reporters today.
“However, the youngest is 16 and gets bullied in school. They call him a ‘terrorist’s son’ and now he does not even want to go to school,” Megha, who has been on the hunger strike since yesterday, said.
She also urged politicians to stop campaigning and pay attention to their plight.
“We are voters, so they have to come here and help us. We are struggling here and really need someone to help us.”
Durai Nadarajan, 37, whose brother is a Sosma detainee, said the detainees had also been on a hunger strike for the past three days.
“My brother has been detained for more than three years and yet there has been no proof of guilt,” he said, adding that his brother was also the breadwinner in his family.
“They are struggling to make ends meet. There are bigger criminals out there yet only people from B40 communities are detained under Sosma.”
The families had a range of demands. Some wanted their relatives released immediately, while others wanted their relatives to face justice as soon as possible and not languish in prison without trial. Some families also called for a repeal of the Act.
Meanwhile, deputy law and institutional reform minister Ramkarpal Singh said the government was aware of the hunger strike and requested the families end their protest while the law reform process was under way, for the sake of their children who were also present.
“Efforts to examine the improvement of Sosma according to the current climate are indeed ongoing,” he said in a statement today.
Sosma was introduced in 2012 to replace the infamous Internal Security Act. Both pieces of legislation allow for prolonged periods of detention without trial.
Sosma has been used to detain a variety of people from Jemaah Islamiyah members to prominent civil rights activists such as Maria Chin Abdullah. Maria’s detention resulted in widespread condemnation from rights groups and the US State Department. - FMT
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