Malaysia: Urgent Action Needed to Address EAIC’s Findings of Abuse in Bidor Immigration Detention Centre

22 October 2024

Responding to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission's (EAIC) findings of physical and mental abuse in the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot which led to the attempted escape of 131 detainees, on 1 February 2024, and resulted in the death of two detainees, Nicole Fong, the Research and Advocacy Officer of Amnesty International Malaysia said:

"Amnesty International Malaysia is appalled by the findings of the EAIC, which reveal a disturbing pattern of abuse and excessive force against detainees at the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot."

"The fact that this is not an isolated incident, and that mistreatment may have been occurring as far back as 2020, including at the Wawasan Langkawi Camp, is a cause for serious concern and warrants immediate action. In 2022, we saw a similar tragedy at the Sungai Bakap temporary immigration detention center, where seven detainees lost their lives in a desperate attempt to escape. Despite calls to investigate the incident at Sungai Bakap, there has been no transparent probe into the incident to date."

"This well-documented recurring pattern of abuse, neglect, and inhumane conditions underscores the urgent need for the government to stop turning a blind eye to the severe human rights violations occurring within immigration detention centres.

Nicole Fong, the Research and Advocacy Officer of Amnesty International Malaysia

"This well-documented recurring pattern of abuse, neglect, and inhumane conditions underscores the urgent need for the government to stop turning a blind eye to the severe human rights violations occurring within immigration detention centres. As the next in line to chair ASEAN, Malaysia must urgently provide meaningful protection to refugees and migrants in line with international human rights standards, end the cruel practice of indefinite immigration detention, and ensure full accountability for all those responsible for abuses."

"We also strongly urge the government to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to fulfill its mandate by granting them access to detainees in immigration detention centres."

Background

On 1 February 2024, media reported that 131 detainees from the men's block in the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot in Perak, Malaysia, broke out of detention following a riot that had taken place. The police said that of the total, 115 were ethnic Rohingya while 15 were Myanmar nationals, and 1 was a Bangladeshi national.

Several of them were rearrested and placed back in detention. It was also later reported that two individuals among them had died in road accidents while attempting to escape.

On 16 October 2024, The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) made the results of its investigation public which revealed that abuse and the use of excessive force were among the factors that led to the attempted escape of the 131 detainees.

Since 2019, the Malaysian government has denied the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) access to immigration detention centres in Malaysia to determine if there are individuals in need of international protection and to advocate for their release.

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