A United Nations envoy today criticised heavy-handed police action against May Day marchers as deplorable and urged the government to recognise the right and need of the people to demonstrate peacefully as it resulted from government restrictions on freedom of expression and the press.

UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Param Cumarasamy said, When freedom of the press, including the electronic media, is curtailed by censorship, directly or self-imposed, or by control by the government, then the public or certain sections of the public will be denied the space to express or impart their opinion publicly.

He said this while launching malaysiakini s press freedom wall exhibit at the web publications office in Kuala Lumpur today.