The High Court will hear on Monday a RM87 million lawsuit filed seven years ago by a group of human rights activists against the government over the violent break-up of an international conference on East Timor.

The 36 activists are suing the government, then inspector-general of police Abdul Rahim Noor and two other senior police officers - including the then Kuala Lumpur chief police officer Ismail Che Rose - for negligence and wrongful detention.

Hearing of the lawsuit was put off last June by judge Azmel Ma'amor as the court had a number of pending election petitions challenging the results of the 2004 general elections.

The activists were arrested on the opening day of the Second Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timor (Apcet II) held in Kuala Lumpur's Hotel Asia on Nov 9, 1996.

The conference - an offshoot of 1994 Apcet I in Manila, Philippines - was to discuss the issue of human rights abuses in East Timor and its struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Angry mob

As the conference was about to begin, a 400-strong group from the Umno Youth-led Barisan Bertindak Rakyat Malaysia - Malaysian Peoples' Action Front - stormed the conference venue.

The angry mob invaded the hotel, broke the doors to the conference hall, overturned tables, threw chairs and verbally as well as physically assaulted the participants.

The police, who are normally quick in stopping illegal demonstrations, did not appear for one full hour to stop the fracas.

Fifty-nine participants and journalists covering the international conference were detained for up to six days in the police lock-up. In addition, another 40 overseas participants were immediately deported.

Meanwhile, a number of Umno Youth leaders were also arrested, but they were released on the same day.

Among those detained were Malaysian Trade Union Congress president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud, Parti Keadilan Rakyat deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali, its vice-president Dr Sanusi Osman, and New Era College principal Dr Kua Kia Soong.

Also detained were a number of local and foreign journalists, including malaysiakini co-founders Steven Gan and Premesh Chandran, both of whom were then working for The Sun .

Umno Youth leaders guilty

Four Umno Youth leaders including a state assemblyman were later charged in court with rioting at the Apcet II conference venue. They pleaded guilty and were slapped with a small fine.

The 36 plaintiffs in their statement of claim say that the police had failed to respond immediately to the violence caused by the Umno Youth mob at the conference venue and were therefore negligent in ensuring the conference participants' safety.

They also questioned the police for detaining them.

The activists claim that the various remand orders made against them were 'improper, invalid and/or not in compliance with the Criminal Procedure Code' and were therefore unlawful.

"The plaintiffs contend that the defendants' actions were oppressive, arbitrary and unconstitutional," added the statement.

The conference participants, upon release from the police lock-up, were not charged for violation for any law.