‘Give good reason for Sosma arrest’

PETALING JAYA: The authorities need to give Malaysians a good answer as to why the 12 individuals, accused of supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), were arrested in the first place, says the Bar Council.

Its president Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor said Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas exercised his discretion to discontinue the case because there was a lack of evidence to prove that the 12 had links to the group.

“From the contents of his statement, it would appear that there was no credible evidence to link the 12 to the charges proffered against them as there was no realistic prospect of conviction.

“It appears that there has been an abuse of the provisions of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) in charging them, ” he said.

Fareed said Malaysians would have questions as to why the 12 were charged in the first place when there was a lack of evidence against them.

“The Malaysian public needs to know. It is disheartening that citizens could be arrested, charged and incarcerated without bail for a prolonged period on charges with no prospect of conviction, ” he said.

Fareed said the Bar Council had repeatedly called for the repeal of all oppressive and draconian laws including Sosma which has no place in a democratic nation and were an affront to the principles of natural justice.