Human rights organizations have urged Malaysia to probe the conditions at migrant detention centers after the government reported that 150 foreigners, including seven children, died there last year.
Malaysia’s Home Minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, revealed in a written response to a query in parliament this week that seven children and 25 women died in jail last year.
He did not reveal the causes of the fatalities or the number of foreigners detained. Malaysia reported 17,703 foreigners in its prison facilities in July.
“The fact that so many foreigners, including children, die in immigration custody is a scathing indictment of Malaysia’s failure to treat those they are holding as human beings who have rights,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Amnesty International called on the government to take action to prevent people’s death in detention.
“150 deaths in one year. Holistic, transparent investigations now,” Amnesty wrote in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
“The findings must be made public. Action must be urgent and comprehensive. Remedies must be found, and justice realised for the families of those who died. The government must act Now,” Amnesty wrote.
According to activists and former detainees interviewed by Reuters, Malaysia’s detention centers are overcrowded and unsanitary, and detainees have insufficient access to food, water, and healthcare.
Malaysia often detains foreigners who do not have legitimate permission to be in the country, including asylum seekers. Millions of unauthorized migrants live in the country, as do over 100,000 Rohingya refugees.
Undocumented foreigners are often jailed for extended periods of time while awaiting deportation, whereas refugees and asylum seekers who refuse to return home are detained indefinitely.
Malaysia does not recognize refugees and accords little rights to individuals granted shelter by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According to Reuters, the UNHCR has been denied access to detention centers since August 2019, impeding efforts to release and resettle asylum seekers.
Malaysia’s home ministry and immigration department, who operate the detention centers, did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Aljazeera
