KUALA LUMPUR: Two Malaysians who were repatriated back to Malaysia after being detained at Guantanamo Bay for 18 years for their role in the 2002 Bali bombings will undergo a series of comprehensive deradicalisation programmes, said Malaysia’s Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
In a Facebook post on Thursday (Dec 19), Saifuddin outlined the government’s aim to ensure “holistic rehabilitation” of the two detainees to facilitate their reintegration into society in three main stages.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Pentagon had announced the repatriation of Mohammed Farik Amin and Mohammed Nazir Lep to Malaysia. The two had pleaded guilty in January this year to conspiracy in connection with the 2002 Bali Bombings. They have been detained at the infamous United States military prison in Cuba since 2006.
Saifuddin on the same day confirmed that his government had received the two detainees and is supportive of the repatriation, based on the “principles of human rights and universal justice”.
“The Malaysian Unity Government is concerned and mindful of the welfare of two Malaysian citizens who have returned from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre,” Saifuddin later wrote in a social media post on Thursday.
According to an infographic accompanying the post, the rehabilitation plan will first emphasise support of the two individuals through their transition into a new “controlled environment”, followed by their reintegration into family life. The final goal is to ensure that they are “able to live independently and productively within the community”.
Saifuddin also noted that to complement this approach, the police will conduct continuous monitoring through regular visits in order to assess the progress of their rehabilitation and ensure that the welfare of the two individuals remain safeguarded.
“The approach not only highlights the government’s strong commitment to the well-being of all citizens but also the values of the Madani government which prioritises second chances and social justice,” the minister said.
Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported that Nazir, 47, and Farik, 48, had been in solitary confinement since their arrest in Thailand in 2003 by the US authorities in connection with the Bali bombings which killed 202 people.
In January this year, they were sentenced to 23 years in prison after pleading guilty to their role in the bombings under a pre-trial agreement. Under the agreement, they could be released after five years and repatriated to a third country.
The New Straits Times reported that like many other detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Farik and Nazir had never faced trial until this year. Under the plea bargain in January, both men agreed with the prosecutors to charges of being accessories to the Bali terror attacks after testifying against Encep Nurjaman who is better known as Hambali, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks.
Hambali is the former leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah movement, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda.
