Kuala Lumpur, July 18: Malaysian police have detained a terror suspect under a tough security law for allegedly recruiting students for the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group, it was reported Sunday.
Malaysia has said it would tighten security after authorities last month revealed Islamic militants were trying to revive the Southeast Asian terror outfit by attracting new members from Malaysian universities.
JI has been linked to Al-Qaeda and blamed for a string of major attacks in the region, including the 2002 Bali bombings.
Mohamad Fadzullah Abdul Razak, 28, was arrested on Thursday after he returned from neighbouring Thailand, police special task force chief Mohamed Fuzi Harun told the Star newspaper.
The paper said police have been hunting for Fadzullah, an engineer, since 2007. He had allegedly been recruiting students from his former university in Malaysia’s south.
The Abolish ISA Movement condemned the arrest, made under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial.
“If the government has evidence against the suspect, we urge the government to charge him in an open court, otherwise, he should be released unconditionally and without any delay,” the group said in a statement.
“Accusing someone of committing crime without producing credible evidence is slanderous.”
The ISA, which dates back to the British colonial era, when it was used against communist insurgents, has been used against suspected terrorists as well as government opponents.
Rights groups say there are currently 15 individuals being held under the ISA.
–Agencies