Repeat: ISA detainee Raja Petra released

Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin was released from police custody today after more than 50 days in detention.

MCPX

He was released at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters at about 2.30pm and was met by family members.

Raja Petra, who is the webmaster of the Free Anwar Campaign (Freeanwar.com) website, was among 10 Keadilan leaders and refomasi activists detained under the ISA in a police dragnet launched on April 10.

His wife Marina Abdullah, when contacted, said that her husband was fine and healthy.

Marina said that she received a call about 2pm from a police officer requesting her to come to the city police headquarters but was not told the reason.

“I was worried and confused because I just visited him two days ago. I didn’t know whether it was going to be good or bad news waiting for me there,” she said.

When she arrived at the police headquarters with her daughter and son-in-in law, she was told to wait in a room and moments later a policeman returned with her husband. “‘Here’s your husband and he is free to go’, the policeman told me,” added Marina.

According to Marina the police had also prepared some refreshments for them.

“I am really happy and I thank god my husband has been released,” she said, adding, “I had been really depressed and worried over the past few weeks.”

Duo freed

On Wednesday, the Shah Alam High Court hearing the habeas corpus application of two other detainees Abdul Ghani and N Gobalakrishnan, ordered their released based on the grounds that their detention under the ISA was unlawful.

The court also ordered the police not to re-arrest them for a period of 24 hours, which ended at 4pm, Thursday. The police chief Norian Mai had then filed an appeal to overturn the decision at the Federal Court.

On April 25, Justice Augustine Paul rejected the habeas corpus applications by five other detainees, saying the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter as the arrests and detention of the five were done in accordance with powers vested in the police through the controversial security law.

The others still in detention are Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua, party leaders Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib, Dr Badrul Amin Baharom and Lokman Noor Adam, social activist-cum-malaysiakini columnist Hishamuddin Rais and human rights activist Badaruddin Ismail.