The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia will hold a 3-day public inquiry from Aug 14 to 16 on the arrest and detention of five lawyers at the Brickfields police station last May.

The inquiry will be held by Suhakam commissioners Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (chairperson), Michael Yeoh and Denison Jayasooria.

It will be held at the Suhakam headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut in Kuala Lumpur from 9.30am to 5.30pm.

A statement from Suhakam today said that the terms of inquiry included:

  • To determine whether the arrest and detention of the five lawyers constitute a denial of legal representation and contravention of Article 5 of Federal Constitution, Section 28 of Criminal Procedure Code, and therefore a violation of human rights, and
  • To determine whether there was any justification or necessity to arrest and detain the five lawyers

The statement added that the inquiry would also identify the responsible persons or agency for the arrest, to find out how any violations occurred and to make recommendations to ensure such violations do not recur.

The inquiry is open to the members of the public and the press.

Held overnight

On May 7, five lawyers from the legal aid centre were arrested when they had gone to the police station to provide legal assistance to a group of people who were arrested for alleged illegal gathering.

bar council lawyers protest at jalan duta court detained 5 lawyer at brickfields police station 080509 03 The five - Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Syuhaini Safwan, Puspawati Rosman, Ravinder Singh and Murnie Hidayah Anuar - were released after being detained overnight.

The arrest of the lawyers sparked criticism among the law fraternity which demanded the resignation of both the Inspector-General of Police and the Home Minister.

The Bar Council had then sent a memorandum to Suhakam demanding a public inquiry.

A similar memo was sent to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Minister in Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz highlighting what had transpired during the arrest.