A regional coalition of human rights groups has condemned the charges to be leveled against a group of activists under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012, and urged that they be dropped.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) has also urged the government to repeal the PAA and other draconian laws.

“To charge the four organisers for a candlelight vigil that went on peacefully reveals the government’s unchanging behaviour in its use of draconian laws to persecute and harass dissenting groups and individuals,” said Forum-Asia executive director Evelyn Balais-Serrano in a statement yesterday.

The Sessions Court in Johor will reportedly charge Bersih’s southern region vice-chairperson Thomas Fann ( left ), Koh Jit Huat, Mohd Salleh Ahmad and PKR's Steven Choong again on April 20 under PAA.

The four of them will be charged with gathering at a restricted area (a petrol station) and for not giving the police a 10-day notice as “organisers” of a candlelight vigil for student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim.

The group adds that while the government claims that the notification period is to allow police time to help maintain security at rallies, reality shows that it is an authoritarian mechanism effectively excluding any possibility of spontaneous assemblies.

“It is now clear that the 10-day ‘notification’ procedure under the PAA is a replacement only by name of the previous requirement of police  permits for assemblies under the now repealed Section 27 of the Police Act,” said Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng in the same statement.

The NGO Suaram is a member of the Forum-Asia coalition.

The group also points that UN officials have also expressed concern over PAA’s restrictions, but it was dismissed by Malaysia.