More than 50 protesters gathered outside the police headquarters  to submit a memorandum to inspector-general of police Ismail Omar, demanding the immediate release of the `PSM 6'.

The protest yesterday was met with strong action from the police, who showed up in an almost equal number to disperse the crowd. They tried to stop protesters from reading out the memorandum outside Bukit Aman.

The memorandum, written by the Perak branch of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), also demands that the detainees be allowed visits by their family members and lawyers. Furthermore, the safety of the PSM 6 under detention must be guaranteed.

PSM claims that the detainees were not officially arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA), even though they are being detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO).

The six have been kept in solitary confinement, blindfolded during transportation and called by a number, rather than by their names. These procedures are reminiscent of detention under the ISA.

‘No reason to hold them'

The PSM 6 were arrested on July 2 under the EO for alleged involvement in organising the Bersih 2.0 rally which was held last Saturday. Shortly after, this charge was revoked and they were freshly charged with being involved with activities to disrupt public harmony.

PSM claims that police revoked the initial charge because they realised they had no evidence against the PSM 6, other than they T-shirts and pamphlets they had with them.

NONE The EO was then invoked to legally detain them, without a trial or with strong evidence, PSM wrote in its memorandum.

Despite disagreeing with the initial charge of being involved with Bersih 2.0, PSM maintains that there was no reason to continue holding the six party members and demanded their immediate release.

The 'PSM 6' are Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, PSM deputy chairperson M Saraswathy (left, in handcuffs), central committee members Choo Chon Kai and M Sukumaran, Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan, and Youth leader Sarat Babu.

The six are social activists known for their contributions to society at the grassroots, fighting for issues such as the need for free education, affordable health care and minimum wages. PSM affirms that the detainees are not criminals.

PSM also asserts that the conditions surrounding the detention of the PSM 6 are a violation of democracy and a violation of human rights.

VIDEO | 9.01 minutes