Nurdin Hasan – As many as 92 Acehnese inmates in a Malaysian jail have gone on a hunger strike to protest alleged brutality and sexual harassment at the hands of the prison guards, an Acehnese in Malaysia and a lawyer in Aceh said on Friday.

"I have checked with the Kajang prison officials [in Selangor state] and several Acehnese in the prison," said Ibnu Sakdan Abubakar, the coordinator of Peace and Justice for Aceh.

"Initially, the prison officials said there was no hunger strike. But when I told them the story I got from the inmates, they admitted that some Acehnese prisoners had gone on a hunger strike."

The hunger strike by the Acehnese inmates, most of whom have been jailed for drug offenses and some of whom are on death row, started on Wednesday and was prompted by two weeks of harsh treatment by the prison guards, Sakdan said.

"What we need to know is why there have been beatings and sexual harassment," he said. "We've never heard of violence against the inmates of a Malaysian prison before."

"Maybe the Acehnese prisoners are tired of being brutally treated and beaten by the prison guards, and they decided to go on a hunger strike and reported it to their former lawyer."

Sakdan also said that he had contacted the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia, and "they confirmed that there is a hunger strike going on."

However, Sakdan could not say for certain how many inmates were involved in the hunger strike.

Saifuddin Gani, a lawyer in Aceh, confirmed that the number of Acehnese prisoners involved in the hunger strike was 92. "The inmates who are on hunger strike are all housed in the same block in Kajang prison," he said.

"I was told by phone yesterday that the reason they stopped eating is because they were brutally treated by the prison guards.

"Dozens of them were sentenced to death by hanging by the Malaysian courts some time ago."

Saifuddin, a member of the legal team at the Legal and Public Relations Office in Aceh, said that he had been in contact with the prisoners for the past couple of months.

He said he had visited Kajang prison as part of an effort by the government of Aceh to assist its residents jailed in the neighboring country.

"I was taken aback by the information that they have gone on a hunger strike," he said. "Then I informed the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia."

Saifuddin said that there are up to 200 Acehnese inmates in Kajang, most of them convicted for trafficking hashish and crystal methamphetamine.

In addition to the prisoners in Kajang, another 200 Acehnese are currently serving time in Sungai Buloh prison.

Apart from the brutal treatment from guards, Saifuddin said, some of the prisoners' rights had been withdrawn or limited by prison officials.

"They used to have the right to watch TV, but even this has been revoked," he said.