Terrorism suspects from Jordan, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen have been detained in Malaysia, activists said yesterday as a report linked them to the Nigerian behind the botched Christmas plane bombing.
Malaysia announced on Wednesday it had arrested 10 people for “acts of terrorism” and said they were members of an international terror outfit tracked down in cooperation with foreign intelligence groups.
The government-linked New Straits Times said the 10 were believed to be associated with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student accused of trying to detonate explosives on a Northwest Airlines plane approaching Detroit.
“It was learnt that foreign anti-terrorism agencies informed Malaysian authorities that the 10 were linked to Abdulmutallab and that they were in Malaysia,” the daily without citing any sources for its report.
Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Wednesday that the suspects were being held under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial.
Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, chairman of the Abolish ISA Movement, said the activist group had learned that 50 people were detained on last Thursday as they attended a religious lecture on the fringes of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
He said the majority were released the following day but that 12 remained in detention ***--*** including a Malaysian, two Nigerians, four Syrians, one Yemeni and one Jordanian.
“The house they were at was forced into without warning by the police action forces using force and weapons,” he told a press conference.
Syed Ibrahim said the detentions may have been a response to international pressure on Malaysia to crack down on terrorism, particularly after US warnings that militants were planning attacks on foreigners at Borneo island resorts.
“In any case, the ISA is a convenient tool to use to avert pressure by making foreigners, in this case mostly from the Middle East region, into scapegoats,” he said.
Muhamad Yunus Zainal Abidin, 29, said he was among those detained during the lecture by Syrian preacher Aiman Al Dakkak who was among those taken into custody.
He told the press conference that the interrogation focused on whether Aiman was planning any action and that he was not questioned over the Christmas bombing.
“We never talked about jihad or bombing anyone. Aiman condemned this,” he said of the classes, which added said had been running since 2003.
Malaysia’s controversial ISA has been used in the past against alleged militants, including members of Southeast Asian extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which is linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.
One JI member released in 2008 is accused of hosting a planning meeting ahead of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Analysts say that other militants affiliated with al-Qaeda have used Kuala Lumpur for meetings and logistics.
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