Consider This: Flotillas Intercepted (Part 1) — Bringing Malaysians Home - Video Dailymotion

AWANI

For the second time in less than a week, Malaysian activists taking part in the humanitarian Global Sumud Flotilla have been intercepted by Israeli forces. Nine Malaysians are believed to be among those kidnapped after their vessels The Conscience and Umm Saad, were intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea following their attempt to sail against the illegal blockade of Gaza. As this fast-developing situation unfolds, what immediate steps are being taken to ensure the safety and rights of the detained Malaysians? On this episode of #ConsiderThis Melisa Idris speaks with Luqman Mazlan, Legal Counsel with the Centre for Human Rights Research & Advocacy Malaysia (CENTHRA).

Transcript

00:00Hello and good evening. I'm Melissa Idris. Welcome to Consider This. This is the show

00:15where we want you to consider and then reconsider what you know of the news of the day. For

00:19a second time in less than a week, Malaysian activists taking part in the humanitarian

00:25global sumut flotilla have been intercepted by Israeli forces. Nine Malaysians are believed to

00:32be among those detained after their vessels, the Conscience and Umsad, were seized in the

00:40Mediterranean following their attempt to break the siege on Gaza. Now as this fast developing

00:46situation unfolds, what immediate steps are being taken to ensure the safety and the rights of our

00:53detained Malaysians. Joining me on the show now is Lukman Mazlan, who is a legal counsel with the

01:00Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy Malaysia, better known as CENTRA. He was part

01:05of the team in Turkey who provided legal support for the 23 Malaysian volunteers who were intercepted

01:13and detained by Israeli forces last week or earlier this week. Lukman, welcome to the show. Thank you

01:20so much for joining us. I really appreciate your time and the work that you do. But maybe you can

01:25begin our conversation for those who may not be aware of the details. Fill us in. Can you begin

01:29by briefly describing CENTRA's role in this case and your personal role during the detention and the

01:37release process? Okay. Good morning, Melissa. Okay. My name is Lukman. As you mentioned, I'm from the

01:45Centre for Human Rights Research and Global Stimulation, CENTRA. Firstly, thank you for having me on the show. I

01:55appreciate the opportunity to discuss on this mission, this important mission and also the work that CENTRA has been

02:02doing behind the scenes. Okay. And as to my personal role in this mission, there's no personal

02:10actually. It's actually a team effort. All right. We all have our our fun to play in the mission.

02:20But to begin, briefly, CENTRA is a non-profit organization. Okay. We are an organization based in

02:30in Malaysia. And our core mission has been to promote human rights, particularly Muslim model of human

02:39rights as well as contributing to the meaningful international human rights. Okay. And for your

02:49information, our involvement in this, um, um, um, began well before the intersection or the detention of

03:00our delegates. Okay. Uh, since, uh, 31 August, our legal team has been actively supporting the mission on the

03:10job in both Italy, uh, and Tunisia, where they had, uh, the participant back there. Okay. Okay. So we

03:18were divided into two things, right? I was, uh, stationed together with my colleague, uh, Mr. Day in

03:24Catania, Italy, and two of my colleagues, Encik Azrael and, uh, Encik Fahmi were stationed in, um, uh, Tunisia.

03:34So for the initial phase, the training period, our, our, uh, uh, responsibility, maybe, um, but the first task we

03:42had to do was, uh, immigration verification. So we assisted in, in, uh, uh, verifying the immigration

03:50status of all our delegates. Uh, we, we, we ensure that they are all clear, um, to enter Jordan.

03:57Okay. Why Jordan? Because why you selected Jordan? Because, uh, uh, due date, uh, nearby location in

04:04Australia, uh, and the close, uh, diplomatic ties with our Malaysian government. So we, we predicted

04:10that, uh, upon interception and release, uh, if there's going to be deportation is going to be through

04:18Jordan. Okay. And, um, um, we also assisted in legal documentation. Okay. We, we are actually

04:25a small group part of a, uh, of a larger, uh, legal group under the global Sumut Protila consisting

04:33of lawyers from, um, uh, 44 countries. Okay. So what we do in Italy, we, we assisted in the

04:40drafting of, uh, the document called the power of attorney. Right. This power of attorney, um, is,

04:47uh, basically a legal document whereby we officially appoint, um, um, Adala, uh, Adala is the legal center

04:56for our minority rights based in Israel to represent all the participants in the event of, uh, detention,

05:05arrest, uh, prosecution, and also deportation. Okay. Uh, other than that, during the initial phase,

05:13we, we gave training to the participant, legal training. Uh, we also conducted, uh, extensive legal

05:21research, uh, with international legal experts and also, yeah, the international lawyers. Um,

05:29as well as, uh, extensive research, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh,

05:33STB11 provision under Israeli law. Look, man, if I may interject here and ask you, so with the, um,

05:40the case of the 23 Malaysian activists who were intercepted and detained, uh, help me and understand,

05:46were there, uh, any formal criminal charges that were brought against the Malaysian volunteers while

05:53they were detained? And I'm wondering, and what legal framework was that under? What basis were they held

05:59under? Okay. Um, there is no, uh, official, uh, legal charges against them under the law of Israel

06:10because, uh, uh, uh, since the beginning, when we gave training to the participant, we, uh,

06:15reminded them, um, um, if any event of intersection and, uh, uh, prosecution, they will be, uh, uh, issued

06:26with a document called the, uh, immediate, uh, release, uh, POM. My name is Yadi Yadong. Okay. So,

06:36if you sign that form, you will be allowed, or you will be deported within 72 hours, uh, of your

06:43detention. Okay. So, uh, we ensure that all our Malaysian delegates sign those documents, reliance

06:49with other lawyers when they were in detention to ensure that they all signed the documents. So,

06:54that's why there's no, uh, charges against them. Okay. Right. Okay. Can I ask you, is it legal for

07:04the Israeli forces to intercept civilian humanitarian vessels in international waters? I mean, what are

07:11some of the principal legal questions that are raised by them doing this? Okay. Uh, before, uh, before

07:21anything like me, let me state clearly that, uh, these participants, uh, particularly our Malaysian delegates,

07:32they were never arrested. Okay. They were never arrested. They were kidnapped. Right. They were

07:39kidnapped in international waters by an illegal occupying force. Yes. Their vessels were intercepted

07:48unlocked illegally in international waters and were transported illegally back to Israeli territory without

07:55any legal, um, justification. So, this is a, a, a, a clear, uh, violation of international law. So,

08:04to answer your question, the central legal question upon interception was that whether the blockade was illegal.

08:12Okay. Okay. So, we are of the view that from the very beginning, the blockade was illegal. Right. Because,

08:21um, uh, we've agreed with the GSF legal team that the position, uh, that the blockade was unlawful under

08:29international law simply because this mission was a peaceful, non-violent, humanitarian mission,

08:36aimed to deliver, uh, aid into Gaza and occupied territory. Right. So, under, um, uh, international law,

08:47um, uh, um, uh, Uibh diagnosis as to Western, uh, but uh, um, um, uh, international humanitarian

08:58military wingerale document, uh, which is highly necessary. Okay. Um, this is, uh, uh, uh,

09:00the international humanitarian legal document, which is highly persuasive, under article 102 of the San Diego Manual,

09:12clearly states that any blockade in international waters, if the sole purpose is to stop civilian population

09:22or to deny them any essential supply for survival, then it is illegal.

09:29Today is number one. Number two is that we also know of the ICJ's opinion on July 24,

09:39where it reaffirmed that society's occupation on Gaza is issued and demands nations to uphold international law

09:50and also protect the rights of Palestinian people. That is number two.

09:56Now, technically, it is also in clear contravention of the Geneva Convention, and it's an additional protocol,

10:04but it's clearly stated under the Geneva Convention that occupying power is obligated to assist, to facilitate in the delivery of humanitarian.

10:16So, these civilian vessels, like I mentioned earlier, it's solely for humanitarian purpose, it's non-violent.

10:25So, there's no legal justification to block the vessel from entering into Gaza.

10:34Lukman, with the nine Malaysians who have been illegally boarded and abducted, kidnapped, as you used the term earlier,

10:46can I ask you where we stand now from what you know in terms of what likely steps are, is Malaysia likely pursuing,

10:56what's likely happening in the next 24 to 48 hours to secure their safe and speedy release?

11:05Okay.

11:06In regards to the nine FFC Freedom Protila coalition participants, the Malaysian delegates,

11:15SEMCHA is not directly involved at the moment as how we are involved with the Global Sumit Protila.

11:24However, we are still working closely with ADALA and also with the international lawyers.

11:29We are following up closely on this mission.

11:33And as the statement of Iyam Abohumad, Dr. Shia Noaibahin,

11:38he had last night that Turkey will still assist,

11:43Turkey will still assist on ensuring the release of the nine participants.

11:48And I wish to also highlight some of the nine participants, the Malaysian delegates,

11:56they are very experienced.

11:59They were involved in the past Plotila missions.

12:02So I believe they have experienced, they know what to do,

12:06they know what form to sign in detention.

12:11I believe now we are just waiting for diplomatic arrangement,

12:16as mentioned by our Prime Minister last night.

12:19Okay.

12:20Alright.

12:21But, if I may add just a little bit,

12:24upon their release, I believe we will work closely with them,

12:31together with the GSF delegates,

12:34for our legal actions, possible legal actions against Israel after this.

12:42Yes, yes.

12:43In ICC, is that where you might be taking international action?

12:49There are a few options that we are currently looking into,

12:54we are exploring.

12:58Because when we landed in Turkey,

13:01we conducted brief interviews with the delegates.

13:05Okay.

13:06Well, during our interview, we discovered that

13:11there are allegations of abuse and torture.

13:16So what we'll do after this,

13:18is that we'll give the delegates about one, two weeks to rest and settle down.

13:23And after that, we'll start our investigation process.

13:26We'll collect evidence and we'll record their testimony.

13:30Probably to file an official complaint to the Human Rights Council.

13:36Also, we are considering the ICC option for your information.

13:41We are also working closely with international lawyers from South Africa and France

13:48to explore the potential action that can be taken against Israel.

13:55Okay.

13:56Luqman, I wish you all the best in your work

13:58and thank you so much for helping bring home our Malaysian activists.

14:03But you and your team, thank you.

14:04Thank you for speaking with us today.

14:06Luqman Mazlan from Sentra there.

14:08We're going to take a quick break here,

14:09here on Consider This.

14:10We'll be back with more on this topic.

14:12Stay tuned.

Consider This: Flotillas Intercepted (Part 1) — Bringing Malaysians Home

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended