KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) demanded an end today to the alleged “harassment” of its supporters, which it said was deliberate ploy to intimidate them for exposing information on the ongoing Scorpene probe in the French courts.

The rights group noted that since the Suaram Ops Scorpene fundraiser it held on July 19, three speakers at the event have already been hauled up for questioning - Suaram secretariat member Cynthia Gabriel on August 7, lawyer Americk Sidhu two days ago and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar today.

“Suaram strongly condemns the ongoing harassment against members of Suaram as well as all those who attended the dinner.

“We strongly believe that this investigation is politically motivated and is purely a form of harassment and intimidation against Suaram and its members for exposing information related to the ongoing Scorpene case in the French court,” the group’s executive director Nalini Elumalai said in a statement here.

The human rights leader also labelled the probes a “waste of time and taxpayers money”, saying that instead of rounding up Suaram supporters, the police should be focusing their energies on catching criminals.

“That the police do not seem to making the fight against crime, and the safety of the public their number one priority, is extremely worrying,” Nalini said.

Suaram has been actively pursuing the Scorpene scandal in the French courts, insisting there had been an element of corruption in the purchase of the multibillion ringgit submarines.

The case has also been linked to the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu, the Mongolian model who had allegedly acted as translator in the shady deal.

In April last year, the Tribunal de Grand Instance in Paris kicked off the long-awaited inquiry into the case.

It was alleged that local firm Perimekar Sdn Bhd had reportedly received RM574 million in commission for providing support and co-ordination services to Putrajaya in the Scorpene acquisition in 2002, back when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the defence minister.

Perimekar is headed by Abdul Razak Baginda, said to be a close associate of Najib’s, and who was in the centre of the 2006 investigation into Altantuya’s murder.

Mid-last year, French lawyer Joseph Breham alleged that another Terasasi (Hong Kong) Ltd, which Abdul Razak leads with his father, had sold Malaysian defence secret documents to French defence giant DCNS for €36 million (RM142 million).

After the revelation, Suaram’s work came under close scrutiny and the rights group even faced a probe for its funding sources.