Malaysia: Workers Rights Activist Denied Travel Documents


NEW YORK - Malaysian human rights and labor activist Irene Fernandez should not be barred by Malaysian authorities from attending conferences with other activists in the United States and Canada this month, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights said today.

In seeking to deny Fernandez travel documents, Malaysian government officials argued in a Kuala Lumpur court that she should not be permitted to attend the meetings because she would likely speak about Malaysia’s human rights situation and thereby “further tarnish its image abroad.”

Fernandez, who directs a rights organization known as Tenaganita, has been targeted by authorities since she published a groundbreaking report in 1995 documenting abuse of migrant workers in Malaysian immigration detention camps. In June of 1996, Malaysian authorities brought criminal charges against Fernandez under Malaysia’s Printing Presses and Publications Act, claiming she had “published false information” in her 1995 report, which is called “Abuse, Torture and Dehumanized Treatment of Migrant Workers at Detention Camps.”

After a seven year trial, a Kuala Lumpur Magistrate 's Court sentenced her to one year in jail on October 16, 2003. Fernandez is appealing the conviction.

“Denying Ms. Fernandez a passport is yet another effort on the part of Malaysian authorities to intimidate her and keep her from exercising her right to free speech,” Neil Hicks, the director of the Lawyers Committee’s Human Rights Defenders Project, said.

The denial also marks an escalation in the government’s efforts to restrict Fernandez’s ability to advocate for reform. During her trial, she asked for, and was granted, permission to travel abroad more than 40 times.

Fernandez had hoped to attend a conference on human rights hosted by the Carter Center in Atlanta from November 10 - 12 as well as attend the annual general meeting of International Council of AIDS Service Organizations in Toronto, Canada, on Nov 13 and 14.

The Lawyers Committee has called on the Malaysian government to drop the charges against Ms. Fernandez and ensure that individuals and organizations working to promote human rights are able to operate without hindrance or the threat of retaliation.