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16 October 2008
Issue: 7341 / Categories: Opinion
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Trial and error

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Detention without trial is alive and well in Malaysia, says Geoffrey Bindman

“A prominent anti-government blogger in Malaysia has been detained for two years on charges of insulting Islam.” The BBC's report of 23 September 2008 says the detention can only be overturned by the minister of home affairs, not a judge, and according to the blogger's lawyer is “a big blow to the idea of civil liberties”.

The minister was using his powers under the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA 1960), dating from British rule in 1960, which permits detention without trial for two years, and allows the minister to extend it indefinitely by similar periods. By an amendment made in 1988, judicial review of the minister's decisions is prohibited.

This story took my thoughts back to 1994. In that year the International Bar Association (IBA) had developed a human rights action plan, which provided for national legal systems to be investigated by independent lawyers for compliance with prevailing international human rights standards. In Malaysia there had been much criticism by local lawyers and others of

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