Category: Malaysia

Malaysia National Conference – “Abolition of the Death Penalty in Malaysia and in Asia”(21-22 July 2017) – Part 2

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“Abolition of the Death Penalty in Malaysia and in Asia”

Malaysia National Conference and Training Workshop

KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

21 – 22 July 2017

Session 8: Towards Abolition of Death Penalty in Malaysia(1)

To discuss and consider the efforts, strategies, obstacles and success of the different stakeholders on abolition

Facilitator:- Wu Jiazhen

session 7 aboliDPe

Speaker:-

  • Kasthuri Patto (Secretary of the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) National Group)
  • Amer Izyanif, Head of Law Reform Division, SUHAKAM
  • Masjaliza Hamzah– (Journalist)
  • Haridas, Aliran
  • Representative from Death Row Inmate Family Support Group

 

Session 9: Conditions of Detention in Malaysia

To provide an overview of the conditions of detention in Malaysia and a discussion on specific cases as well as methods to gain access

Facilitator:- Shamini Darshni

Speakers: –

Lim Chi Chao (Malaysian Bar)

Simon Karunagaram (SUHAKAM)

 

session 8 detention

DAY 2

Session 10 : Poverty, Crime and the Death Penalty – an Indian experience

To discuss the social aspects of the death penalty and to provide understanding on how the poor are often times the ones subjected to capital offences and how poverty resorts to unequal justice

Facilitator: Ted Tan

Speaker:-Mr. Himanshu Agarwal(Associate, Centre on the Death Penalty, National Law University Delhi ) –

session 9 poverty

Session 11: Towards Abolition of Death Penalty in Malaysia (2)

  1. Ngeow Chow Ying, KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) Civil Rights Committee
  2. Andrew Khoo (Public Opinion Survey in Malaysia done by the Death Penalty Project and the Malaysian Bar
  3. Representatives from Prison Counselling Group

session 10 abolition

Session 12: Lobbying the World for the abolition of Death Penalty in Malaysia – UPR and UN Mechanisms

Speaker:-

Facilitator: Charles Hector

Speakers:-

  • Jennifer Jokstad (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commisioner/OCHR) – (UPR and other available UN mechanisms, Special Rapporteurs, CEDAW, CRC..
  • Yap Swee Seng, Former Executive Director, FORUM-ASIA – International Lobbying Group working at the UN)

session 9b upr

Session 11: Mental Health and the Death Penalty

Facilitator:-  Arshad

Speakers: Julian McMahon(Barrister, President, Reprieve Australia

 

Training by Amy Bergquist

 

Session 7: SMART Exercise

Right to Communicate with the Outside World

Training on Conducting Fact Finding Mission

session amy

ADPAN – Urgent Appeal call by Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders on the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan by Malaysia

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See earlier related post:-

MALAYSIA – ADPAN Executive Committee Member, Adilur Rahman Khan, detained by Immigration at KLIA Airport

Malaysia: Arbitrary arrest of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan

20/07/2017
Urgent Appeal

Human Rights Defenders
  • Malaysia

MYS 001 / 0717 / OBS 083
Arbitrary arrest /Harassment
Malaysia

 
July 20, 2017

 

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Malaysia.

 

Brief description of the information:

 

The Observatory has been informed with great concern about the arbitrary arrest in Kuala Lumpur of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, Secretary of the human rights non-governmental organisation [1], also a member of OMCT General Assembly and FIDH Vice-President.

 

According to the information received, on July 20, 2017, at about 4.00 am, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan was detained by immigration officers upon his arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. No reason was given for his detention.

 

Mr. Rahman Khan was travelling to Malaysia to attend the National Conference on Death Penalty organised by the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) from July 21 to 22, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The Observatory strongly condemns Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan’s arbitrary arrest, and calls upon the Malaysian authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, as well as to guarantee in all circumstances his physical and psychological integrity.

 

Actions requested:

 

Please write to the authorities in Malaysia, urging them to:

 

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, as well as of all human rights defenders in Malaysia;

 

ii. Release Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan immediately and unconditionally as his detention is arbitrary since it only aims at sanctioning his human rights activities;

 

iii. Put an end to any kind of harassment – including at the judicial level – against Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan as well as all human rights defenders in Malaysia;

 

iv. Ensure in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Malaysia are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear of reprisals;

 

v. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Articles 1 and 12.2;

 

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Malaysia.

 

Addresses:

· Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Fax: +60 3 8888 3444, Email: ppm@pmo.gov.my

· Mr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister of Home Affairs of Malaysia, Fax: +60 3 8889 1613 / +60 3 8889 1610, Email: ahmadzahid@moha.gov.my
 

· Attorney General of Malaysia, Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, Fax: +603 8890 5670 Email: pro@agc.gov.my
 

· Tan Sri Razali Bin Ismail, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), Fax: +60 3 2612 5620, Email: humanrights@suhakam.org.my;

· H.E. Mr. Amran Mohamed Zin, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 710 75 01, Email: malgeneva@kln.gov.my

· Embassy of Malaysia in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 762 50 49, Email: malbrussels@kln.gov.my

Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Malaysia in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic missions or embassies in Malaysia.

***
Geneva-Paris, July 20, 2017

 

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

MALAYSIA – ADPAN Executive Committee Member, Adilur Rahman Khan, detained by Immigration at KLIA Airport

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Adilur Rahman Khan from Odhikar, a member of the ADPAN, was detained at the Kuala Lumpur Internationbal Airport(KLIA) by the Malaysian Immigration and prevented entry (he is still being detained at this time). He was supposed to be attending the General Assembly of ADPAN today(20/7/2017), and Malaysian National Conference on 21-22 July. At the ADPAN General Assembly, Adilur Rahman Khan, was succesfully voted into the Executive Committee of ADPAN for the 2017-2019 term.

adpan adilur statementcropped-adpan-national-conference-poster1.jpg

Bangladesh human rights activist detained at KLIA

| July 20, 2017

Suaram condemns arrest of Adilur Rahman Khan who arrived this morning to attend a conference in Kuala Lumpur on the abolition of the death penalty.

PETALING JAYA: The arrest of a Bangladeshi human rights activist at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this morning has been condemned by a local rights group.

Adilur Rahman Khan was detained by immigration officers at KLIA at about 4am today. Khan is the secretary of Odhikar, a human rights NGO based in Bangladesh.

He had travelled to Malaysia to attend a conference on the topic of “Abolition of the death penalty”.

“Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) condemns the detention of Adilur Rahman Khan.

“As of 10am, no reason has been given by immigration officers as to why he was detained. However, Suaram was informed that Khan has now been moved to the immigration lock-up,” Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said in a statement.

The NGO urged the authority to release Khan and called for an end to the “persistent harassment against human rights defenders visiting Malaysia”.

This is the latest action taken against foreign human rights activists by the Malaysian government.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International (AI) said it was concerned over the barring of Singapore human rights defender Han Hui Hui from entering Malaysia last month.

Han had been blocked from entering the country after having been labelled an “undesirable immigrant” by the home minister.

“AI notes that this is not the first time the government has barred peaceful activists from entering Malaysia.

“In recent years, Hong Kong political activist Joshua Wong and Indonesian human rights defender Mugiyanto Sipin have been prevented from visiting the country, as well”. – FMT News, 20/7/2017FMT News, 20/7/2017

Immigration detained activist from Bangladesh, claims Suaram

  •    Published Today 11:40 am     Updated Today 11:53 am

The human rights group Suaram has condemned the Immigration Department for supposedly detaining a human rights activist from Bangladesh.

“Suaram calls for his immediate release and demand that the Immigration Department stop its persistent harassment against human rights defenders visiting Malaysia,” it said in a statement today.

Suaram claimed that Odhikar secretary Adilur Rahman Khan was detained at about 4am today at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and as of 10am, he was not told the reason for his detention.

He was supposed to attend a conference on the abolition of the death penalty that would take place in Kuala Lumpur this evening until Saturday.

Malaysiakini has contacted the Immigration director-general Mustafar Ali and is waiting for a response. – Malaysiakini, 20/7/2017

Malaysia detains prominent Bangladeshi rights activist Adilur Rahman Khan

Published

1 hour ago

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysia has detained a prominent Bangladesh activist, civil groups said on Thursday (July 20), describing the government action as “harassment” against human rights defenders.

Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of the rights group Odhikar, was detained after arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport early Thursday, activists said.

He was due to speak at a two-day conference organised by the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network

Rights group Voice of the Malaysian People (Suaram) said Khan was being kept incommunicado at the airport’s immigration lock-up and appealed for his release.

“Suaram calls for his immediate release and demand that the immigration department stop its persistent harassment against human rights defenders visiting Malaysia,” it said in a statement.

Immigration authorities could not be reached for comment.

Malaysia often denies foreign pro-democracy activists entry into the country without giving explanation.

 

The Asian Human Rights Commission urged the international human rights community “to immediately intervene in this case, and secure Khan’s release from arbitrary detention”.

The commission said it was worried that the detention of Khan, his country’s former deputy attorney general, “is the result of collusion between governments in Bangladesh and Malaysia”.

In the past, Khan’s group has been critical of human rights violations allegedly committed by Bangladeshi security forces, including torture and extra judicial killings.

Malaysia has also denied Khan a lawyer and the right to speak to anyone, the group said.

In 2015, student activist Joshua Wong, who helped organise the 2014 Hong Kong protests, was denied entry by immigration authorities. – The Straits Times, 20/7/2017