GEORGE TOWN – The Immigration Department should provide alternative detention centres to house women and children to allow for better access to healthcare, safety and security, said the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
“We don’t think children should be in detention centres. Suhakam has always asked for alternatives to detention for children and pregnant mothers,” Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph told The Vibes.
He said this in commenting on the case of pregnant Frenchwoman Leonie Bardet, who is currently being held at the Belantik immigration depot in Sik, Kedah, for overstaying.
She has three children – aged 17, 9 and 2 – with her in a holding cell.
Immigration depots function as temporary detention centres for those waiting to be sent back to their home countries.
“Cases take about two to three months, but only when embassies are ready to help and tickets home are not a problem.”
And because of the pandemic, he said many foreigners are stuck at immigration depots for a longer time because of the lack of flights or vessels to send them home.
“I don’t think this is the case for this mother and her children.
“But if it’s a case of fear of political persecution, then other humanitarian considerations must be applied. If it’s criminal prosecution, the mutual legal framework for extradition must be used and not the immigration deportation mechanism.”
Meanwhile, Senator Yusmadi Yusoff has called on Suhakam to help Bardet seek clemency and release from the depot.
As news of her case builds up in Malaysia and France, he said it is timely for Suhakam to advise the Malaysian government on dealing with the matter.
He said the authorities cannot lump the three allegations she faces together, and there is also a need to verify the rights of the French nationals here.
The allegations – linked to kidnapping, overstaying and conspiracy theories – are three matters that should be interpreted separately, he said.
Lawyers representing Bardet and her live-in companion Rémy Daillet-Wiedemann said while their family tried to renew their travel documents, the French embassy here has ignored their emails, calls and messages in seeking a supporting letter for submission to the immigration authorities.
“It is here that the Suhakam’s role is important, and the Malaysian government also needs to address the various claims of abuse and illegal detention. It is a question of human rights,” said Yusmadi.
Previously, The Vibes had reported that Bardet and her children are at risk of being deported today.
Bardet is the live-in companion of controversial Frenchman Daillet-Wiedemann, who is wanted in his home country in connection with a kidnapping case of an 8-year-old girl from her grandmother’s home in southern France in April.
The girl was rescued by French police in Switzerland days later and reunited with her grandmother.
Her mother, who had lost custody of the child, and three other accomplices were arrested by police, and investigations found that they were allegedly influenced to carry out the abduction by Daillet-Wiedemann, who resided in Langkawi.
An international arrest warrant was issued by a French magistrate and Interpol was called in to liaise with the Malaysian police on his arrest.
After a month-long investigation, Interpol and the Malaysian police arrested the couple at their condominium in Laguna, Langkawi.
Daillet-Wiedemann, a former French politician, has been described by French media as a far-right conspiracist, who subscribes to the QAnon movement.
He is also alleged to have committed sedition by encouraging the French working class to overthrow the present duly-elected government there.
His lawyer, Jean-Christophe Basson-Larbi, has urged the authorities to show leniency and compassion to Bardet, despite Daillet-Wiedemann’s infamy as being “the most wanted man” in France.
His sentiment echoes that of Ajdal Amor, a friend of the couple, who said the fact that Bardet is pregnant in her mid-40s makes childbirth a delicate process. Fellow French nationals here have suggested that Bardet and her children be placed under house arrest instead. – The Vibes, June 13, 2021
Additional reporting by Rachel Yeoh
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