Ahmad disoalsiasat 8 hingga 9 jam setiap hari...

Ahmad Abd Jalil, yang didakwa dengan menghina Sultan Johor melalui Facebook telah dikurung selama tujuh hari ketika ditahan reman di Balai Polis Johor Bahru.
 
Dalam satu wawancara dengan Malaysiakini hari ini, Ahmad menceritakan pengalamannya sewaktu dalam tahanan di dalam sebuah sel kecil yang menurutnya tersangat panas, tidak ada kipas, dengan sebuah tingkap kecil yang tinggi berhampiran siling.

Sepanjang masa di dalam sel tersebut, Ahmad tidak melihat atau berjumpa sesiapa, kecuali anggota polis yang "mengiringinya" sewaktu dia hendak ke tandas.

"Ia tersangat panas sehingga saya tidak dapat tidur. Terdapat 12 unit semuanya, tetapi tiada siapa yang boleh mendengar atau melihat antara satu sama lain. Saya tidak dapat melihat apa-apapun, burung atau bahkan pokok," kata juruukur bahan berusia 27 tahun, yang baru mendirikan rumahtangga..

"Setiap hari, saya meminta untuk berjumpa dengan keluarga saya dan peguam kami tetapi mereka tidak membenarkannya".

Pada hari Khamis, Ahmad dibebaskan dengan ikatjamin selepas didakwa di bawah Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia.

Ahmad  yang keluarganya berasal dari Pulau Pinang, berkata beliau terpaksa berdepan dengan dua sesi kira-kira lapan hingga 10 jam disoalsiasat setiap hari.

Polis bertanya beliau tentang sebab-sebab di sebalik kononnya kemarahannya terhadap Sultan Johor dan Ahmad mendakwa, pada satu ketika mereka cuba mendapatkan pengakuan daripada dia.

"Tetapi saya bertanya mereka 'marah tentang apa?'. Apabila mereka tahu saya tidak akan memberitahu apa-apa, mereka bertanya saya soalan lain yang berkaitan," katanya.

"Mereka bertanya tentang akaun bank saya, sama ada saya menerima wang dari sumber asing, atau sama ada saya pernah pegi ke negara-negara Arab," katanya.

"Mereka ingat saya dibiayai oleh pihak-pihak tertentu tetapi pasport pun saya tak ada. Mungkin mereka fikir saya mempunyai hubungan dengan beberapa NGO asing yang berpejabat di luar negara," katanya. 

Pada setiap masa sewaktu sesi tersebut, Ahmad bertegas bahawa beliau tidak melakukan apa-apa kesalahan tetapi berkata pihak polis kelihatan seperti terlalu berminat untuk mendengarnya.

Mereka hanya menjawab "sudah tentulah, mereka yang melakukan kesalahan tidak akan mengakui mereka salah," kata Ahmad, sambil menambah beliau pertamakalinya disoalsiasat oleh tiga pegawai polis dari Bukit Aman, dan kemudian oleh anggota dari Johor Bahru- malaysiakini

 Ahmad subjected to daily grilling of 8-9 hours...

Ahmad Abd Jalil, charged with insulting the Johor sultan via Facebook postings, was kept in solitary confinement for seven days while in remand in the Johor Bahru police station.

In an interview with Malaysiakini today, Ahmad related his experiences while in detention, describing his tiny cell as extremely warm, with no fan for ventilation apart from a small window, high up near the ceiling.

All the time he was in the cell, Ahmad did not see or meet anyone, except for the police personnel who "escorted" him to the toilet whenever the need arose to ease himself.

"It was too hot that I could not even sleep. There were 12 units in all, but no one could hear or see each other. I could not see a soul, a bird or even a tree," the 27-year-old newly married quantity surveyor said.

"Every day, I pleaded to see my family and lawyer but they did not allow that."
On Thursday, Ahmad was released on a RM10,000 bail after being charged under the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Ahmad, whose family hails from Penang, said he had to endure two sessions of about eight to 10 hours of intense interrogation daily.

The sessions started with questions focusing on his personal life, his family and friends and later venturing into far-fetched insinuations.

The police queried him about the reasons behind his so-called anger at the Johor ruler and at some point had even tried to extract a confession from him, he alleged.

"I asked them 'angry about what?'. When they knew I was not going to tell them anything, they turned around and asked me other related questions," he said.

"They asked about my bank account, whether I received money from foreign sources, or whether I had been to Arab countries," he added.

"They thought I was being funded by certain quarters but I don't even have a passport. Probably they thought I had links to some foreign NGOs based overseas," he said.

Subjected to mental torture

At all times during the sessions, Ahmad insisted that he had done nothing wrong but said the police appeared not too interested in hearing that.

They had merely replied "of course, those who commit wrongs never admit they are wrong", said Ahmad, adding that he was first grilled by three police officers from Bukit Aman, and later by Johor Bahru personnel.

He said that while that there was no physical torture, the police however often scolded him aggresively, torturing him mentally and emotionally.
"They kept asking me questions, when I want to answer they did not allow, they asked me other questions instead. They keep doing this," he said.

"At first they asked me nicely, when I said I do not know (the answer), they continue to ask me, hoping that I would get tired and provide them the answers they wanted," he added.

Meanwhile, Ahmad was shocked when told that the police had lodged a report against Malaysiakini for criminal defamation for articles on him, apologising profusely for it.

He plans to return to his work in Wangsa Maju and has been trying to get in touch with his employer, but had received no response so far.

Ahmad, however, merely wants to remain "a normal person" for now, saying until today, he is uncertain of the crime he was supposed to have committed.

"Even if I said anything on my Facebook, it is among my friends and acquaintances.

"I didn't even know what was my crime until I appeared in court. I was arrested before they even knew what was my crime. This is wrong," Ahmad said.

"I did not hurt or kill anyone. Even if I did anything wrong, it was by myself and to myself only," he lamented.

"There is such a thing as rule of law. We can talk about how the Rohingyas are being treated in Burma, but what are we doing here, in our own country?" he asked.

Ahmad has no plans yet to sue the police for wrongful detention but is in the midst of consulting his legal counsel.

He is grateful for his supportive family, whose home was also searched, friends, lawyers and the media, adding that his parents are still worried about him because of the "special forces" in Johor.

Bracing for extremists' attacks

While he was in the lock-up, the police had warned Ahmad that he might have to face the consequences of his actions when set free, prompting him to lodge a police report in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

"I just want to protect myself. I don't consider myself that important, but since the police have warned me, if anything happens to me, it may be the actions of the extremists in Johor," he said.

There were calls made on Facebook on a page called ‘Kesultanan Johor' (Johor Sultanante) asking that Ahmad be persecuted and if he steps foot in Johor, he would be beaten up.

However, since he was freed yesterday, Ahmad had received no threats or contact from the police although it would be difficult for him to forget their "drastic action (during arrest) as if I was a criminal".

He will return to the Johor Bahru Sessions Court on Nov 28 for the re-mention of his case.

He faces two charges of insulting Sultan Ibrahim. On the first count, he is alleged to have uploaded insulting remarks in a Facebook account registered under ‘Zul Yahya', at Dewan Tan Sri Mohamad Rahmat in Kampung Pasir, Tampoi at 3pm on Oct 21.

In the second, he is accused of committing a similar offence at the Johor police contingent headquarters media centre at 6pm on Oct 10, Bernama reported yesterday.

The charges are framed under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, punishable under Section 233(3) of the same Act.

Ahmad faces a fine of not over RM50,000 or a jail term of not more than a year if convicted, and an additional fine of RM1,000 for each day he continues to commit the offence thereafter. - malaysiakini

 

cheers.