Anti-sultan lawyer 'abused in detention', sister claims

A memorandum sent to the Home Ministry today detailed alleged abuse suffered by lawyer Kamal Hisham Jaafar who has been remanded for close to three months.

His sister, Norlizan Jaafar, told Malaysiakini she wanted to highlight the abuse suffered by her brother who was first remanded on Sept 2 due to a fraud case.

Her brother returned to the spotlight, after he urged Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to abdicate his throne if he wanted to participate in politics.

According to Norlizan, Kamal Hisham was detained in a Special Branch lock-up for 17 days.

He was handcuffed at all times and guarded by more than 10 guards at a time, she claimed.

“He was not given clothes and he was only allowed to wear his underwear,” she claimed.

Apart from a hole the size of a matchbox, there was no other source of light in the cell, she said.

His prison cell has no toilet and Kamal Hisham had to call out to the police officers every time he wants to pass motion.S

She also claimed that her brother is denied his right to pray, and only given a shabby and foul-smelling blanket to cover his modesty.

She said Kamal Hisham was placed under solitary confinement at the Ayer Molek remand centre.

“He did not have any contact with the other inmates for every single day for months,” said Norlizan.

'Treated despicably'

When he was told by a doctor that he could have had contracted dengue fever, Norlizan said her brother was taken away by the police that night itself after he was warded at Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Baru on Sept 17.

“During his recovery, he was only given a glass of water per day. He had to drink tap water from the toilet to avoid dehydration,” she said.

Norlizan also claimed that even though her brother was diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes, the prison had ignored her family’s request to supply his medications.

“The prison said only medications supplied from the prison’s hospital can be taken by inmates,” she said.

She also claimed her brother had his head shaved five times in the first two months of detention.

“His head was shaved in front of high-ranking prison officials. He was treated despicably as though he no longer has his dignity,” she said.

As for his predicament after coming back from making court appearances, Norlizan said he was forced to strip and squat to ensure that he did not have banned substances with him.

Meanwhile, Norlizan said she wants the case to be transferred out of Johor as she believes there is interference from the Johor palace since her brother had “insulted” the sultan.

She also pointed out that Kamal Hisham was only under remand and has not been proven guilty.

“My brother should be investigated first before he is charged instead of the other way around,” she said.

After his first detention on Sept 2, Kamal Hisham was re-arrested for the fifth time on Sept 15 under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

He has since posted bail of up to RM700,000 after being detained five times and had his passport surrendered to court. -Mkini