KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 ― Both government watchdogs on human rights and enforcement agencies should probe allegations of torture at the Juru immigration detention centre in Penang, Amnesty International Malaysia said.

AI Malaysia executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu also urged the Malaysian government to swiftly carry out impartial probes on the alleged torture which she said may have caused the deaths of detainees.

“These are serious allegations and the authorities must commence investigations urgently, especially when this is not the first time allegations of torture and deaths in detention have been made,” she said in a statement yesterday.

“AI Malaysia calls upon Suhakam and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission to conduct investigations into the accusations of torture and ill-treatment at the Juru detention centre,” she added, referring to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the enforcement agencies' oversight body EAIC.

Shamini was weighing in on The Cambodia Daily's report this Monday, where a Cambodian woman formerly detained at the Juru facility claimed she had been assaulted by the centre's officials and had witnessed the deaths of seven female fellow detainees from Cambodia and Vietnam, including three who were allegedly “badly tortured” before their deaths.

“Torture can never be justified. It is cruel and targeted violence towards another person and does not belong in civilised society. Allowing torture to prevail indicates political failure to prevent this crime from persisting,” Shamini said.

Noting the repeated criticism that Malaysia's detention centres, including immigration depots, prisons and police lock-ups, fall short of basic standards, Shamini said Putrajaya needs to urgently ensure that the centres meet the United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

The UN standard provides for the basic standards for prisoners’ living conditions, personal hygiene, food and medical services apart from other basic rights, AI Malaysia said.

She also noted that at least 17 countries had in 2013 urged Malaysia to make an international agreement against torture effectively valid here by implementing it into local laws, policies and practices.

The call was made at Malaysia's Universal Periodic Review, a UN Human Rights Council mechanism where UN member states' human rights records are reviewed by other countries and given recommendations to act on to improve the human rights situation there.

“AI Malaysia renews our call to the Malaysian government to ratify the UN CAT at its earliest convenience. Ratification of this convention would mean that safeguards to prevent incidences of torture and ill-treatment would be introduced. There is no better time than now. Torture must stop,” she said, referring to the UN Convention Against Torture.

Local human rights group Suaram similarly called for a probe into the alleged torture at the Juru detention centre.

“Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) strongly condemns the act perpetrated by the depot staff as reported by detainees from the Juru Detention Camp. Investigation into the matter must be conducted with no further delays by all relevant enforcement agencies. Those who has committed these vile and heinous act must be brought to justice immediately!” the group's executive director Sevan Doraisamy said in a statement yesterday.

Noting that the “deplorable” living conditions at immigration detention camps nationwide have been a long-standing concern, he claimed that the government's response to calls for proactive remedies have however been “slow and opaque”.

He also said the reported accounts from Cambodia regarding the alleged violence and deaths at the Juru detention centre “marks a new low for human rights in Malaysia.”

“While we can describe the appalling living conditions in detention camps throughout Malaysia as a gross human rights violation, the existence of torture and physical violence by depot staff and the scale of which it occurs elevates the issue from human rights violations to the realm of crime against humanity,” he said.

Source: Malay Mail