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©New
Straits Times (Used by permission)
by V. Anbalagan
PUTRAJAYA: The five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders will remain at
the Kamunting detention centre for another 19 months at least.
The Federal Court yesterday dismissed the habeas corpus
appeal on their detention under the Internal Security Act.
The three-man bench ruled that the detention of the five for two years under the
ISA was legal.
Judge Datuk Alauddin Mohd Sherif said judicial commissioner Zainal Azman Ab Aziz,
who heard their applications in the High Court, had combed through the
affidavits of respondents, including that of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi, who was then the Internal Security Minister.
Sitting with Alauddin were Datuk Arifin Zakaria and Datuk Hashim Yusof.
Alauddin said the decision by Abdullah to order the detention
under ISA was not made in a "mechanical manner".
"The detentions were made based on investigations and that the respondents had
complied with procedural requirements under the Act," said Alauddin, who read
the oral grounds in a packed courtroom.
"There was no misdirection in law by the judicial commissioner," said Alauddin.
Outside court, Hindraf supporters and family members of the detainees said they
accepted the court's verdict but the struggle to seek the freedom of the five
would continue.
The five detainees are lawyers R. Kenghadaran, 40, M. Manoharan, 46, V.
Ganabatirau, 34, P. Uthayakumar, 46, and Hindraf co-ordinator K. Vasantha Kumar,
34.
They had filed the habeas corpus application soon after their detention on Dec
13.
They had named the Internal Security Minister and commandant of the Kamunting
detention centre as respondents.
A relative of Kenghadaran was seen sobbing uncontrollably outside court.
Their lawyer Karpal Singh said an option available was for Home Minister Datuk
Seri Syed Hamid Albar to revoke the orders and set them free.
The lawyer said he regretted that the apex court did not address the legal
issues raised during submission.
"They should have given a detailed judgment and not merely affirmed the ruling
of the High Court," said Karpal, adding he would also file a review application
on the decision next week. He would also apply that the judges make available
their grounds of judgments as soon as possible.
He said the five detainees would also file a second habeas corpus application
against the Advisory Board chairman for allegedly failing to comply with
procedural law.
(At the detention centre, there was an in-house proceeding where the five were
given the opportunity to prove their innocence).
Karpal, however, pointed out that at that proceeding, the investigating officer
and witnesses were not called.
"The five were not given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses," he said.
Attorney-General Tan Abdul Gani Patail, who appeared for the respondents
yesterday, had submitted that the minister issued the order to detain the five
after he was satisfied with the investigations.
Abdul Gani said the minister's affidavit stated that he issued the detention
order under Section 8 of the ISA because police had conducted a thorough
investigation.
Abdul Gani said that the section allowed law enforcement agencies to carry out
investigations first before arresting them.
The attorney-general said the five Hindraf leaders had caused racial tension and
they had links with a Sri Lankan terrorist group.
The minister, he added, had reasonable grounds to believe that the activities of
the five would cause racial disharmony in the country.
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