21-year detention is punishment enough, says Guantanamo man’s brother

Najib Lep said his family members have pledged to do their best to ensure that his brother, Nazir, is properly rehabilitated prior to his eventual release and integration into society. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

The family of Nazir Lep, one of two Malaysians repatriated by the US after more than 21 years at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, has urged Malaysians to give him a chance.

His elder brother, Najib, said Nazir’s two decades of detention without trial and solitary confinement had been punishment enough.

He added that Nazir and the other Malaysian, Farik Amin, had suffered inhumane treatment during their time at the detention centre.

Najib, a former assemblyman for Bukit Pasir in Johor, said his family members were glad that Nazir was back on Malaysian soil and had pledged to do their best to ensure that he is properly rehabilitated prior to his eventual release and integration into society.

“We were not officially notified about his return. We only learnt about it from the media. Whatever the case, his 21 years of detention – mostly under solitary confinement – were punishment enough,” Najib told FMT.

“The Malaysians (Nazir and Farik) were also subjected to inhumane treatment and torture during interrogation by the CIA. This was admitted by the US government. The case has finally been settled in court, so give him a chance.”

Najib said his family had built a home where his brother could settle in and do some farming after his release.

He said there had been no word on whether Nazir would serve the remainder of the five-year term dished out by the US military court in Guantanamo in Malaysia.

Nazir, 47, and Farik, 48, were held in solitary confinement following their arrest in Thailand in 2003 by US authorities in connection with the Bali bombings the previous year.

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 agreement, they could be released after five years and repatriated to a third country.

Both men pleaded guilty to conspiring with the “mastermind”, Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, to commit the Bali bombings which killed 202 people.

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

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Nazir and Farik would undergo a comprehensive reintegration programme formulated by Putrajaya.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Saifuddin also said that a monitoring mechanism had been drawn up to complement the reintegration programme.

“Police will be continuously monitoring (the duo), including through periodic visits to gauge the progress of their rehabilitation and ensure that their welfare is looked after,” he said.

Separately, Australia’s ABC News reported that Canberra had asked Malaysia for assurances that the two men were being closely monitored.

Quoting a spokesman for Australian foreign minister Penny Wong, the report said the Australian government had “conveyed to the US and Malaysia our close interest in this matter on numerous occasions”.

Eighty-eight Australians were among the 202 killed in the Bali bombings. - FMT