Various parties have slammed the police for continuing to use a law the courts have deemed unconstitutional to arrest participants of peaceful rallies.

 

This morning, PKR Youth condemned the police for arresting three more involved in the series of Kita Lawan rallies to free jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

 

“Despite (the peaceful nature of the rallies) the police have used laws that are no longer relevant to justify their actions.

 

“Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) continues to be used despite the Appeals Court ruling that the section is unconstitutional,” said PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad in a statement today.

 

Since the massive rally that saw roughly 10,000 march from Sogo mall to KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, six PKR and DAP leaders have been arrested.

 

Yesterday another three individuals were arrested, two at a follow up rally in Sogo ( above ) that saw 100 protestors.

 

The three, DAP Rasah MP Teo Kok Seong and activists Adam Adli Abdul Halim and Mandeep Singh were detained yesterday and are being held at Jinjang police station.

Nik Nazmi himself is among the six leaders arrested and later freed through the past week.

'End police abuse of power'

 

Bersih in a statement last night also called yesterday’s arrests “deplorable” and a violation of the people’s constitutional right to freedom of assembly.

“These arrests are a violation of the right of all Malaysians to freedom of expression and assembly.

 

“In our view, they constitute an attempt by the authorities to stifle dissent and sweep under the carpet inconvenient questions on what is happening in Malaysia,” said the steering committee of the coalition for clean and fair elections.

 

“We deplore the actions by the police and strongly urge that Mandeep Singh and Adam Adli be released immediately.”

Similarly Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy (TBHTD) also slammed police action against peaceful demonstrators and excessive use of police powers to detain those involved.

They said detaining the individuals for long periods by applying for remand was an abuse of power.

"The aim (of such detention) is simply to stop the people's initiative for peaceful gatherings to call for the release of political prisoner Anwar Ibrahim," said TBHTD in a statement today

"We urge Parliament to review the sections involving the taking of police statements, that is section 112 and 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) as well as section 143 of the Penal Code, to stop the police from abusing their powers and to defend the people's democracy," said the group.