Three Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders, who were to be charged with sedition at the Klang Sessions Court this afternoon, managed to walk free today.

The trio, who were not charged today, were granted bail set at RM800 per person by judge Zumaidah Mohd Idris. *[correction below]

However, Hindraf chairperson and lawyer P Waythamoorty refused to post bail as a mark of protest against the 'police being used by the government'.

He will be detained by the police until Monday and had vowed to go on a hunger strike. He was reportedly sent to Sungai Buloh prison.

However, his brother and Hindraf legal adviser Uthayakumar and another Hindraf lawyer, Ganapathy Rao, posted bail. Nevertheless, all three will be back in court on Monday to be formally charged.

Some 2,000 supporters, who were cheering throughout the proceeding, mobbed the duo as they walked out of the court building at about 6.45pm.

At press time, the supporters garlanded the duo and hoisted Uthayakumar on their shoulders and are holding a procession through the streets in Klang, bringing traffic in the surrounding areas to a halt.

A truckload of Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel had been dispatched to the area.

The group marched to a nearby temple, where Uthayakumar gave a speech urging them to come to the rally on Sunday before dispersing.

Amend charge

Earlier in court, Zumaidah instructed the deputy public prosecutor to amend the charge and put off the hearing to Monday.

The trio were to be charged under Section 4 (1B) of the Sedition Act based on police investigations pertaining to reports lodged against them in relation to their speeches made at a recent forum in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor.

DPP Ishak Yusuff had argued in court that their whole speeches were seditious.

However, the trio's counsel M Manoharan pointed out that according to the charge sheet, only one word in the speeches was seditious.

The judge also pointed out that the particular seditious word was not highlighted in the charge sheet.

Apart from Manoharan, the trio were also represented by A Sivanesan and N Surendran. Lawyer Amer Hamzah held a watching brief for the Bar Council.

Waythamoorthy, Uthayakumar and Ganapathy were arrested earlier today at separate locations ahead of a mass rally planned by Hindraf outside the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

In a SMS to Malaysiakini this evening, Waythamoorthy described the incident as a "conspiracy by the state."

"I am going in (to jail) as a protest. This whole saga is a state conspiracy. It's not too late, they (the authorities) can still issue a permit for Sunday," he said.

Correction: Uthayakumar, Waythamoorthy and Ganapathy were indeed charged, but the trio are to return to court on Monday where their charge will be amended. We apologise for the mistake.

Watch 4-min video clip of Hindraf supporters in Klang