Gitmo Bay duo need lifelong support, monitoring, says expert

Nazir Lep (left) and Farik Amin, who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre since 2006, were repatriated to Malaysia this week under an agreement with the US.

PETALING JAYA: 

A criminologist says lifelong support and supervision are necessary to prevent the two Malaysians who were involved in the 2002 Bali bombings from reverting to extremist ideologies.

Universiti Malaya’s Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid emphasised the need for a realistic, lifelong rehabilitation and monitoring programme for Nazir Lep and Farik Amin, who were repatriated by the US on Wednesday after more than 21 years at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

Haezreena advocated for periodic counselling, as well as education about Malaysia’s laws and social structure, to help reintegrate the duo into society.

She said it was important to balance public safety with opportunities for rehabilitation, and warned that Nazir and Farik might face societal rejection or retaliation due to the seriousness of their past actions.

Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid.

“They have served their time. Now, it is about giving them a second chance to reconnect with their families and contribute to society, but under rigorous oversight to ensure public safety,” she said.

“While we hope they’ve turned over a new leaf, lifelong support and oversight are necessary to ensure they do not pose a threat to society.”

On Thursday, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government will implement a comprehensive integration plan to ensure the duo are rehabilitated before they are reintegrated into society.

He said police will continuously monitor their movements and communications, adding that they also have devised a rigorous monitoring mechanism, including regular visits, to assess their rehabilitation progress.

Another criminologist, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s P Sundramoorthy, raised the potential risks to national security posed by Nazir and Farik due to the violent nature of their past actions.

P Sundramoorthy.

In January, both men had pleaded guilty to conspiring with “mastermind” Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, to commit the Bali bombings in 2002 which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Sundramoorthy said it was crucial to question whether rehabilitation alone would be sufficient for those involved in serious forms of extremism.

He said their rehabilitation programmes should be customised based on a thorough risk assessment of each individual.

He said as the release of the two former prisoners would raise public safety concerns, the authorities should employ proper communications strategies to “reduce fear while ensuring safety”.

“These individuals have served their sentences, but that does not automatically mean they are deradicalised,” he told FMT.

“The nature of their offences, their commitment to violent ideologies, and whether they have genuinely renounced their past beliefs, need to be carefully evaluated.”

Nazir and Farik were members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian extremist network involved in planning and supporting the Bali bombings.

They were held in solitary confinement following their arrest in Thailand in 2003.

In January, they were sentenced to 23 years in prison by a jury after pleading guilty to their role in the bombings under a pre-trial agreement. Under the deal, they could be released after five years and repatriated to a third country.

US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin notified Congress last month of his intention to repatriate Nazir and Farik, and the duo returned to Malaysia on Wednesday. - FMT