DAP lawyers bid to free party members arrested over LTTE links
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Two senior DAP lawyers will file a legal challenge to the detention without trial of two party lawmakers over suspected links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group.
Ramkarpal Singh and RSN Rayer said they expect to submit their application within the week.
“We will also challenge for the right to post bail, as under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) it is not permitted,” he told reporters outside the police national headquarters in Bukit Aman.
The police’s invocation of Sosma for the arrests allows them to hold the suspects for infinitely renewable blocks of 28 days without trial at a time.
Ramkarpal said they both spoke for over two hours with Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaran and Melaka state exco G. Saminathan, during which their clients gave further instructions.
“So far, they appear to be in good health, although they have not yet been visited by their families. I understand their relatives will come by some time later today.
“To our knowledge, they will remain detained here in Bukit Aman throughout the duration of their arrest,” he said.
Asked about Bukit Aman’s Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay’s claim that large financial transactions were made to reactivate the LTTE, Ramkarpal said the allegations “are not made clear yet”.
“I think we cannot go into that because the actual charges have not been framed themselves. So at this point there is a lot of speculation,” he said.
He said the detained DAP assemblymen also asked that the lawyers represent two other men arrested on Saturday for the same matter.
“I cannot disclose any more on what was discussed since it is classified, but we will keep everyone updated as and when,” Ramkarpal said.
Gunasekaran and Saminathan were among seven suspects arrested by the police on Thursday for suspected links to the LTTE, with the others picked up in Kedah, KL, Selangor, and Perak.
Subsequently on Saturday, five more were arrested in Melaka during a day-long operation by the police, including the two men whom Ramkarpal and Rayer were instructed to represent. It is understood one is the chief executive officer of a state-owned company while the other is a local authority councillor.
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