Malaysian immigrant detention center “hell”, report reveals

Indonesian NGO report Information about Malaysia’s immigration detention center has just been released, detailing the inhumane situation of the center in Sabah.according to Sovereign migrant workers coalition (KBMB), 149 Indonesian citizens have died in five centers in the last year and a half.

“Conditions that create fear”

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) cites a number of cases in which detainees were denied treatment and died. One of the men with Down Syndrome said, “I was ill for a long time, but I couldn’t get health support.”

Interviews with detainees claim “continuous physical abuse until death.” When migrant worker Suardi bin Samsdin tried to escape, police officers beat him “with bare hands, stones, and iron pipes on his chest and head.” TEMPO.CO.. The prisoner died of his injury.

During April Al Jazeera Six people, including two children, were reported dead across the freeway after escaping the detention center. 528 people fled the facility, most of which were retaken by authorities.

KBMB report Details of the brutal living conditions of detainees:

Skin disease

• “Infants, children, adults, and the elderly suffer from skin diseases, especially scabies. Many were seriously ill.”
• The belongings have been confiscated, but officers will sell the medicines needed by the detainees for more than 10 times the regular price.

A cramped quarter

• Holding a block half the size of a tennis court, with only three holes in the toilet, can accommodate 200-260 people.
• Many people suffered from severe diarrhea and had to “defecate up to 6-10 times a day.”

Detained women and children

• Children are housed in the same block as adults and violate international law.
• “Baby under the age of five only gets two diapers a month, and they don’t get the food or milk they need.”
• “It is virtually impossible to maintain hygiene and avoid various infections.” Leading to miscarriage and menstrual disorders
• “Each female detainee is given only two menstrual napkins when entering immigration detention.”

KBMB activist Abu Mafakir said the Malaysian Home Office “acknowledges the conditions that cause terrorism, so when detainees are released, they will go back and talk to others about it.” rice field. SCMP..

Well-documented issues

In 2018, an independent research center global detention project report We are calling on the Malaysian Human Rights Council to reassess domestic immigration conditions.

2017, Reuters A review of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea’s documents revealed that “more than 100 foreigners have died in Malaysia’s immigration camps in the last two years due to various illnesses and unknown causes.” The Home Office quoted budget constraints on “horrible” situations.

Government response

Malaysia’s Interior Minister, Hamzah Zainudin, responded to criticism from the Immigration Bureau. “Who should blame the criminals if they detain them, put them in a warehouse, and then die?”according to Free Malaysia Today.. “Sometimes I die while walking … I don’t even have to be in the depot, so this shouldn’t be a problem.”

Since 2019, the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs has banned UN refugee agencies from visiting the center. Reuters..

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating the death of Suardi bin Samsdin and others in a KBMB report. TEMPO.CO..