PETALING JAYA: A group of Egyptians were recently detained under the Sosma security law for renting out their apartments to terrorism suspects, a source has revealed.
Among them were students at a local university, who have since been deported by authorities, with the source saying they could likely face torture from Egypt’s military authorities.
The source said six Egyptians had been detained, four of whom were held under Sosma, or the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, while two others for overstaying.
When contacted, the head of Bukit Aman’s anti-terrorism unit Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay declined to comment.
Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera however quoted an unnamed official at Wisma Putra as confirming the arrest of the men under Sosma.
FMT’s attempts to get a response from the Egyptian embassy in Kuala Lumpur have failed.
But checks with the Egyptian community in Malaysia showed that the detainees could face torture if sent back to Egypt, where a military regime has been ruling after the overthrow of its first democratically elected president in 2012.
Rights activists have alleged that hundreds of dissidents were tortured in the last five years, with Human Rights Watch saying there is a “documented pattern of systematic torture of detainees” including in secret detention centres and police stations.
One student at a local university in the Klang Valley told FMT that his friend had not been seen since he was arrested early February.
“If he gets deported, he faces persecution,” he told FMT.
The move to deport the Egyptians contrasts with the authorities’ decision to drop immigration-related charges against 11 Uighur men who entered Malaysia after escaping jail in Thailand.
Malaysia then defied Beijing by sending the men to Turkey, amid fears that they could face torture in China.
When contacted, Lawyers for Liberty said the deported men were aligned to Mohamed Morsi, who has been in jail since his overthrow in 2013.
“Morsi himself is suffering in jail. For Malaysia to send these young men back to face similar persecution is tantamount to putting a hangman’s noose around their neck” LFL’s Latheefa Koya told FMT.
She said Malaysia has clearly breached international human rights standards by allowing their deportation.
Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, who heads the Malaysian chapter of Amnesty International Malaysia, told FMT that the men were now at risk of enforced disappearance, torture, prolonged pretrial detention and unfair trials.
“We urge the Malaysian government to respect the principle of non-refoulement and ensure that those at risk of persecution or risk of irreparable harm in another country, including torture, are not deported,” said Shamini. - FMT
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