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12 August, 2005ICEM news release No. 14/2003
L abour Activist Tian Chua was released 2 June from a Malaysian detention center, more than two years after being arrested under the country's archaic Internal Security Act (ISA). But final release wasn't expected until today (4 June) after he posted bail on three charges related to unlawful assembly.
Tian Chua is free
The release from prison under ISA, a 1960 statute giving the Malaysian government power to hold someone up to two years without formal charges, came ten days after the ICEM Executive Committee publicly demanded his unconditional release for the second time. Tian Chua was held as a national security risk, but no evidence ever was made public against him. He is a widely-respected spokesman for labour rights on Asia's sub-continent who has worked frequently with the ICEM on a number of projects.
"Naturally, we are pleased to hear the news of Tian Chua's release," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. "But the ICEM now repeats its call for immediate repeal of Malaysia's Internal Security Act." The ICEM Executive also demanded his release in June 2001, and called on the government to abolish the ISA.
Tian Chua was handcuffed and then brutally assualted by prison guards at the Kemunting prison in Perak state 9 May following the confiscation of a laptop computer. The 39-year-old Chua was studying for a Doctorate Degree while imprisoned.
Besides the ICEM, lawmakers from Denmark, the United Kingdon and The Netherlands publicly called for the release of Tian Chua and others held under the ISA, and Amnesty International and the Internatational Confederation of Free Trade Unions were also vocal in seeking Tian Chua's release.