Hundreds of children and adolescents removed by Malaysian authorities from foster homes, where they were allegedly physically and sexually abused, have suffered “unimaginable horror”, UNICEF described on Thursday, September 12.
“These children have experienced unimaginable horrors and will need long-term medical and psychological support,” said Robert Gass, representative in Malaysia for the UN agency responsible for defending children’s rights.
170 arrests
Raids were carried out on Wednesday at shelters in two Malaysian states, leading to some 170 arrests including those of Muslim teachers, police said.
These accommodations were managed by a group (Global Ikhwan Services and Business – GISB) with links to the Islamist sect Al-Arqam, banned in the country in 1994, according to the same source.
The group, however, denied this and clarified in a statement that it did not manage the shelters. “It is not our policy to do things that go against Islam and its laws,” it wrote on Wednesday.
According to GISB’s website, the group operates supermarkets and restaurants in several countries including Indonesia, France and the United Kingdom. The children will be temporarily housed at a police training centre in Kuala Lumpur, authorities said.
- BFMTV.com
