Covering events from January - December 2000

Malaysia Head of state: Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj Head of government: Capital: Population: 22.2 million Official language: Bahasa Malaysia Death penalty: retentionist

The authorities launched politically motivated prosecutions against leading opposition party members. Former deputy Prime Minister and his co-accused Sukma Darmawan were convicted of sodomy after an unfair trial. Demonstrations in support of Anwar Ibrahim and of political reform (reformasi) were violently broken up by police. Reports of ill- treatment of detainees by police were not adequately investigated. Two people were executed and at least 13 people were sentenced to death.

Background Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reaffirmed his dominant political position following the ruling alliance's election victory in November 1999 and the prolonged tensions sparked by the dismissal and charging of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998. Despite this, the authorities continued to apply laws restricting rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Politically motivated prosecutions In January the authorities launched selective, politically motivated prosecutions under the Sedition Act and the Official Secrets Act (OSA) against leading opposition party members. None of the prosecutions had concluded by the end of 2000.

● In a prosecution which had grave implications for the independence of lawyers in Malaysia, Karpal Singh, Anwar Ibrahim's defence lawyer and deputy chairman of the (DAP), was charged under the Sedition Act on account of statements he had made in court about the alleged poisoning of his client. ● Marina Yusoff, vice-president of the Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN), National Justice Party, was charged with sedition for comments allegedly provoking racial tensions made at an election rally in 1999. PKN Youth leader Mohamad Ezam Mohamad Noor was charged under the OSA for distributing allegedly classified documents about official corruption to journalists.

Press freedom Using its powers under the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the authorities imposed restrictions on news media regarded as pro-opposition. From March, Harakah, newspaper of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), Islamic Party of Malaysia, was allowed to print only twice a month instead of twice a week. Other pro-reform publications, including the magazines Detik and Eksklusif, had the renewal of their permits arbitrarily denied.

● In January sedition charges were brought against Zulkifli Nordin, editor of Harakah, and its publisher, Chia Lim Thye, for publishing an allegedly seditious article which had reportedly been written by an opposition leader. Chia Lim Thye pleaded guilty and was fined, while proceedings against Zulkifli Nordin continued at the end of 2000.

Anwar Ibrahim After a year-long trial Anwar Ibrahim was convicted in August of sodomy and sentenced to nine years' imprisonment, to be served consecutively with a six-year sentence imposed in April 1999 for alleged abuse of ministerial powers.

Anwar Ibrahim's co-accused, Sukma Darmawan, was also convicted of sodomy and sentenced to six years' imprisonment and four strokes of the cane. He was granted bail pending appeal.

Anwar Ibrahim was a prisoner of conscience as he was prosecuted and imprisoned in order to remove him from public political life. His trial was unfair in several respects: public statements by government leaders undermined the defendant's right to be presumed innocent, detainees were ill-treated to coerce confessions and defence lawyers were intimidated.

In addition,the independence of the court in this case was in doubt, as the prosecution received permission for a series of amendments to the charges in relation to the date of the alleged offence, whereas Anwar Ibrahim was refused permission to call certain witnesses and to present evidence considered crucial by the defence.

The judiciary Domestic and international legal and human rights groups, including AI, expressed concern about the lack of independence of the judiciary in politically sensitive cases. In politically motivated prosecutions, the courts failed adequately to defend human rights principles enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution and in international human rights law.

● In September the Court of Appeal upheld a three-month prison sentence for contempt of court against Zainur Zakaria, one of Anwar Ibrahim's defence lawyers. He had filed an affidavit in 1998 alleging that two public prosecutors had attempted to fabricate evidence against his client. Zainur Zakaria filed a final appeal. ● In July the struck out a defamation suit against the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy, upholding the immunity from prosecution of the Special Rapporteur, as confirmed in 1999 by the International Court of Justice.

In 1995, four defamation suits had been filed against the Special Rapporteur on account of comments he had made in his official capacity.

Freedom of assembly The authorities responded to periodic, peaceful public demonstrations in support of Anwar Ibrahim and reformasi by dispersing them violently, arresting protesters and filing charges of illegal assembly. Senior members of opposition parties were also arrested on suspicion of incitement ahead of planned demonstrations. Police permits for public meetings by opposition parties were issued or refused arbitrarily and selectively.

● In November, 125 people were arrested at a demonstration in support of Anwar Ibrahim and at least 26 reported injuries from beatings sustained during and after a violent police dispersal. After five days in remand detention, 124 were released but faced possible charges of illegal assembly. ● In November, three PAS activists were jailed for a month for illegal assembly after refusing to pay a fine for participating in a demonstration against a visiting Israeli cricket team in 1997.

Torture/Ill-treatment

There were reports of excessive use of force by police in dispersing demonstrations, and of beatings of protesters on arrest and in detention. Investigations into the ill-treatment of detained demonstrators, and of others arrested since 1998 in connection with the Anwar Ibrahim case, remained inadequate. No police officers were reported to have been brought to trial except the former Inspector-General of Police, who, after the original charges were reduced, was convicted in March of assaulting Anwar Ibrahim in custody in 1998. He was sentenced to two months' imprisonment but remained free pending appeal.

Former migrant workers from Bangladesh who testified for the defence in the trial of women's rights activist Irene Fernandez detailed torture and sexual abuse in camps for migrant workers in 1994-1995. Irene Fernandez' trial began in 1996. She was charged with ''maliciously publishing false news'' in a report describing ill- treatment in camps for detained migrant workers.

There were also reports of ill-treatment and unlawful deaths in police custody of ordinary criminal suspects.

Internal Security Act Opposition parties and civil society groups repeated calls for the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows indefinite detention without charge or trial. At least five Shi'a Muslims were reportedly detained under the ISA for allegedly posing a threat to Muslim unity. In July at least 27 people suspected of links to the Al Ma'unah Islamic martial arts group, which seized arms from a military base and killed two hostages, were detained under the ISA. Twenty-nine Al Ma'unah suspects were charged with ''waging war against the King'' (treason) under the Penal Code. The fairness of their trial was compromised by the Attorney General's application of emergency regulations restricting normal rules of evidence in designated security cases. Six of the accused pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, while 15 faced the death penalty if convicted.

National Human Rights Commission In April the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia was established. It met representatives of local human rights groups and began to receive complaints, mostly allegations of police brutality against demonstrators.

Although concerns over its effectiveness continued to be expressed, the Commission asserted the right to peaceful assembly, sent monitors to observe demonstrations and held hearings into reports of police brutality. Other issues considered by the Commission included human rights education for police and for youth, and the need for reform of restrictive laws, including the ISA.

Death penalty and corporal punishment In the first reported executions since 1996, two men accused of drugs trafficking were executed in November. At least 13 people were sentenced to death. Caning, a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, was imposed throughout 2000 as an additional punishment to imprisonment.

Communications to government In January AI issued a series of appeals Human rights undermined - Appeal cases (AI Index: ASA 28/013/1999) related to application of the ISA, the torture, ill- treatment and unfair trial of Anwar Ibrahim and his associates, the arrest and ill- treatment of peaceful demonstrators, the trial of Irene Fernandez, and the threatened prosecution of students and teachers. AI also expressed concern at the arrest and charging of Karpal Singh and other opposition leaders and called for reform of the Sedition Act and other restrictive laws. In June AI stated its grave concerns at the verdict in the sodomy trial of Anwar Ibrahim and Sukma Darmawan, reiterated its calls for Anwar Ibrahim's release as a prisoner of conscience and again called for full, independent investigations into credible reports of ill-treatment to coerce confessions.