Justice for Sisters co-founder Thilaga Sulathireh claimed that the detainees were not informed of their rights and were only able to contact their family members eight hours later, causing some relatives to lodge missing persons reports.
The raiding officers also reportedly asked intrusive questions about the detainees’ sexual orientation, sex lives and HIV status, raising concerns about relevance and intimidation.
“A lot of the questions asked were about sex, their sex life, their sexual orientation, and whether they had HIV, creating an intimidating environment,” Thilaga said at a press conference today.
She said several detainees described poor management during their processing, overcrowded and inadequate detention conditions, denial of access to toilets, and prolonged periods without food or water.
“During the raid, there were at least three medical emergencies, and other detainees had to provide immediate support because there were no medical teams on site,” she said.
Thilaga said the organisation also documented verbal harassment, unnecessary phone inspections, and attempts to solicit bribes.
These alleged actions caused significant anxiety, stress and health issues among the detainees, she said.
“Everyone in detention or imprisonment must be treated humanely and with respect for their dignity,” she said.
Justice for Sisters also raised structural concerns, including the public targeting of LGBTQ+ individuals, and the moral framing of police operations.
The raid was led by the Kuala Lumpur strike force team in collaboration with the federal territories Islamic religious department and Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
Two hundred and eight people aged between 19 and 60 were detained, including 17 civil servants and 24 foreigners.
On Dec 5, a group of NGOs called for an investigation by the human rights commission (Suhakam) into alleged human rights violations during the raid.
They accused the authorities of gross violations of privacy and dignity, as media footage showed the men in towels being filmed and publicly identified.