Malaysia Working With ICRC To Release Two Guantanamo Detainees - M'sian Home Minister

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), June 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is liaising with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to enable its two citizens, currently detained at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, released and returned to the country. Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said, he was informed that the two detainees, held since 2006 without trial, were in good health and that efforts were undertaken to ensure their rights were protected. "ICRC has international credibility, they have the networking, they can ensure for example, standards they expect Malaysia to have, and will also have to be upheld by countries which detain Malaysians," he said. He was speaking to reporters after a courtesy call from International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Head of Operation for East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific Alain Aeschlimann. Mohd Farik Amin, 36, from Kajang, and Mohd Nazir Lep, 35, from Muar (Johor state of Malaysia )were arrested in Thailand in August 2003, following claims they were linked to the al-Qaeda, and transferred to the Guantanamo detention centre in 2006. Hishammuddin said, apart from the Guantanamo detainees case, the cooperation with ICRC also included cases involving Malaysians detained in other countries over their alleged role as a drug mule. "Because of the globalisation, because of the high stakes involved, because of crimes that are cross-border right now, people get exploited and they may regret it but being detained in a foreign country, they too have rights which we need to protect," he said. Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said he was pleased with the overall cooperation between the ministry and ICRC, and that he would make sure it was continued. The areas they worked on included health issues, link-ups between families that might be displaced, unaccompanied minors who were detained and partnership to assist in benchmarking Malaysia with international standards, he said. Meanwhile, Aeschlimann said the cooperation between ICRC and the ministry was developing well, where they also provided some direct services to ensure the detainees in this country were treated in conformity with international standards. -- BERNAMA