KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Malaysia turned its back on the rights of three alleged terrorism suspects who were recently deported to Sri Lanka where they face the real risk of torture at the hands of the authorities, a rights advocacy group alleged today

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the three Sri Lankan Tamils are under the protection of the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, and should not have been sent back so hastily and without any proof to back the Malaysian police’s claim that they are terrorists.

“Malaysia’s forced return of these refugees to Sri Lanka is no free pass for torture and mistreatment,” HRW Asia deputy Director Phil Robertson said in a statement.

“Governments can’t just pick and choose when to protect refugees. Malaysia seemed more interested in burnishing its ties with Sri Lanka than honouring its obligation to protect refugees from possible persecution and torture.”

Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which regulates how countries should deal with refugees and asylum seekers.

HRW stressed, however, that even non-signatories are required by international human rights laws to respect the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits countries from sending anyone back to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened or where they would face a real risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

The NGO said concern for the safety of the three men was further heightened after Sri Lankan authorities branded them as supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which had waged three decades of bloody civil war with the government.

The timing of their repatriation also coincided with the Sri Lankan government’s active pursuit for remnants of the LTTE since March this year, leading to scores of arrests and several deaths, HRW added.

The human rights watchdog said it had previously documented 75 cases of torture by Sri Lankan authorities against people suspected of having LTTE links between the years 2006 and 2012, which include failed asylum seekers from countries such as the United Kingdom.

Both male and female detainees claimed they were raped, beaten, partially asphyxiated and burned with cigarettes, among other forms of abuse, and were also deprived of access to legal counsel, family or doctors, the group claimed.

“Although the LTTE were decisively defeated in May 2009, the government has maintained a high military presence in Tamil-dominated areas. Draconian wartime legislation remains in place, giving security forces wide berth in dealing with those suspected of links to the LTTE.”

On Sunday, inspector-general of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar revealed that three suspected LTTE members were detained by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division in multiple raids in Petaling Jaya and Klang on May 15.

He said in a report by The Star that the men were believed to have been in Malaysia since 2004 and had been using the country as a base to secure funds, spread their propaganda and revive their separatist movement.

The top-cop added that they tracked down the suspects using their UNHCR cards, claiming that the three men had abused their privileges afforded under refugee status to orchestrate terror activities.