Lawyer claims minor held under Sosma subjected to degrading treatment

2026-03-16 - 07:54

(From left) Mandiri’s Wong Kueng Hui, lawyer T Shashi Devan, Suaram executive director Azura Nasron, lawyer Farida Mohammad, and Suaram adviser Sevan Doraisamy at the press conference. PETALING JAYA: A lawyer has alleged that a minor was subjected to degrading treatment by the police while being detained for 28 days under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma). Farida Mohammad, representing the minor, said her client and two others were detained on Feb 15 and held for 28 days before being released on March 13. She said that according to the detainee and his family members, the trio faced “continuous” interrogation daily. “They were also placed in cells where the lights were kept on 24 hours, disturbing their sleep and potentially affecting their health,” she said at a press conference at Suaram’s office here today. Farida, a member of Suaram’s board of directors, also claimed that her client was forced to strip naked and perform push-ups and jumping jacks, describing this as shocking and disgusting. FMT has reached out to Bukit Aman for comment. Farida maintained that children should not be detained under Sosma as they were among the most vulnerable to being abused by the law. Rights groups as well as the national human rights commission (Suhakam) have repeatedly condemned the arrests of the minors, saying this breached the Child Act and Sosma provisions which allow minors detained under the law to be released on bail. Section 13(1) of Sosma states that bail shall not be granted to one charged with a security offence. However, minors, women and sick people may be released on bail. T Shashi Devan, a lawyer representing another one of the minors, said he had received credible information that the children were handcuffed repeatedly at different times during the investigation. If true, Shashi said, this would be a breach of the law and established procedures for handling minor detainees, both at the point of arrest and throughout their detention. Suaram adviser Sevan Doraisamy criticiseded home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail over the issue, saying Saifuddin lacked control over the police and had failed to prevent the misuse of Sosma. He urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to intervene and impose a moratorium on the use of Sosma until amendments are made to introduce judicial oversight and safeguards.