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if Hillary Clinton is genuinely concerned about the Rule of Law, she should first examine the track record of the US judicial system, especially the manner in which the victims of Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and ...

By Matthias Chang   03 November 2010   Future Fast Forward

 It was reported in the leading local mainstream media that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has requested to see Anwar Ibrahim and has expressed her concerns regarding the ongoing Sodomy II trial.

At a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, she was quoted as saying, “I have raised it and we will continue to raise it. It is part of a continuing dialogue. The United States believes it is important for all aspects of the case to be conducted fairly and transparently, and in a way to increase confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia.”

It was also reported that the State Department has been in regular contact with Anwar Ibrahim.

Being a recent victim of judicial abuse, I share the concerns for the need of judicial impartiality in all cases and in all jurisdictions. I was convicted of contempt of court for criticising a judge for being bias, but Anwar Ibrahim and his lawyers have been criticising the judges for alleged bias and having misconducted the trial, but not once was he convicted for contempt of court.

However, if Hillary Clinton is genuinely concerned about the Rule of Law, she should first examine the track record of the US judicial system, especially the manner in which the victims of Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere have been incarcerated for years without charges, tortured, abused and denied proper legal representation. Families are even denied access to those incarcerated.

Hillary Clinton requests to meet with Anwar Ibrahim who is not even under detention, but denies the basic human right of the families to meet with the detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. This is hypocrisy and double standards. 

Under the Bush administration, extra-judicial assassinations were common and recently President Obama has issued an Executive Order authorising the CIA to assassinate any American suspected of terrorist activities without the benefit of any judicial process. Suspicion is enough to warrant a death sentence!

The United States is also complicit with Israel in the imprisonment of over 8,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails without due process, many of whom are juveniles and women. The detainees are repeatedly abused and tortured.

It has been reported by the human rights groups B'Tselem and Hamoked, that Shin Bet prisoners are often incarcerated and interrogated under unsatisfactory conditions. The report - based on interviews with 121 Palestinians detained in the security service's Petah Tikva detention facility last year - indicates that 645 detainees had filed complaints over the nature of their incarceration and/or interrogation, but that none had led to the opening of a criminal investigation.

Hillary Clinton’s concern for the rule of law in Malaysia is credible and sustainable only if she displays the same concern for those incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Israeli prisons and secret detention centres run by the CIA. 

Hillary Clinton’s concern for the rule of law in Malaysia is credible and sustainable only if she displays the same concern for those incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Israeli prisons and secret detention centres run by the CIA. 

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