June 8 is Hari Hak Asasi Mahasiswa (Undergraduates' Rights Day).

I had nearly forgotten about June 8 until I went to the magistrates’ courts in Jalan Raja to have the bail sum released for one of the ‘ISA 7’.

The date stamped on the savings account for the bail sum of RM2,500 (per accused) was July 19, 2001. This was the date when the seven students were charged under the Police Act for illegal assembly. Under this law, the state may deem a group of three as an illegal assembly.

Magistrate Mohd Khairi Haron acquitted the students of the charge on April 22 this year. While they were charged in 2001, the hearings only began from 2003.

On June 7, 2005 the interest for RM2,500 stood at RM140.99. I returned the principle sum plus interest to the law firm from which I had borrowed the money.

I remembered the frenzied moment in court when the bail was set and the telephone calls went out to friends and well-wishers to secure the total amount for seven people.