Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has commenced a civil suit today against 82 defendants, a large chunk of whom is a made up of police officers, for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment of six of its party leaders under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) last year.

NONE The suit, filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court registry by lawyer Yudistra Darma Dorai ( right ), prominently named the home minister, the inspector-general of police (IGP), deputy IGP, the attorney-general and the government of Malaysia as defendants.

The six leaders are also claiming damages for assault and battery, malicious prosecution, absence of reasonable grounds of arrest, abuse of process and misfeasance in public office and breach of statutory duty.

NONE The six PSM leaders were detained for 28 days under the EO for undefined reasons during a controversial police crackdown on civil rights groups and opposition parties in the run-up to the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally for electoral reforms.

The six are Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and PSM activists Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, M Sarasvathy, M Sukumaran, and A Letchumanan, who were otherwise known as the EO6.

Aside from a declaration that their constitutional rights were violated, costs, and aggravated and exemplary damages, the six plaintiff are also claiming damages for:

  • Deprivation of their usual quality of life had they had not been arrested and detained;
  • Deprivation of personal liberty;
  • Deprivation of the right to equality before the law and to equal protection of the law;
  • Deprivation of the right to freedom of movement;
  • Deprivation of the right to freedom of speech and expression;
  • Deprivation of the right to peaceful assembly;
  • Deprivation of the right to association;
  • Fear and anxiety under arrest, detention and during periods of custody and interrogation;
  • Psychiatric trauma;
  • Loss of reputation;
  • Sarasvathy had suffered pain and injury resulting in health complications; and,
  • Letchumanan and Sarasvathy had suffered  pain, injury and shock as a result of assault and battery.

"However, as far as we are concerned it is the IGP and the deputy IGP who should be held responsible for this," PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan told reporters at the court complex's lobby, where around 30 PSM activists had gathered in a show of support.

He asserted that if they were to win the legal challenge, the plaintiffs will be only be demanding damages from the top police officers.

The reason for naming all the police officers involved, added Yudistra, was to ensure that the suit is not rejected on technical grounds, as has happened in the past.

NONE "All we want is for the police to be professional instead of being used for political reasons. If we don't do this now, they (the police) will repeat it again in the future," said Jeyakumar ( right ).

"Our intention is not to punish those who were following orders. I have to say that there were many police officers who showed us sympathy when we were forcefully arrested," he added.

After their release from detention, the six were charged with being in possession of subversive documents, together with 24 other party activists accused of a similar crime during their ' Udah Bersaralah ' roadshow on June 25 last year.

All 30 were initially detained on suspicion of planning to wage war against the Agong. However the charges were later amended to posing a threat to public order.

Prior to that, the police had said the six top leaders were detained under the EO for having played a "key role" in organising the Bersih rally.

But on Sept 19, charges against the 30 were dropped, soon after the government announced plans to repeal the EO, as well as other detention-without-trial legislation.

The three emergency proclamations were eventually  lifted , and the Emergency officially ended when the Dewan Negara endorsed the resolution last November.

Laws made under Emergency powers, including the EO, will be considered void in June.