LFL slams Saifuddin's 'blind defence' of police conduct at anti-Israel rally

Summary

• LFL slams Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for “blindly defending” the police over the chaos during the Oct 2 protest outside the US Embassy.

• LFL director Zaid Malek says Saifuddin should instead probe into the alleged heavy-handed treatment of protesters by the police.

• He adds that a social media video uploaded by the KL police chief violated his clients’ privacy.

A legal rights group has rebuked Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for “blindly defending” the police over their handling of an Oct 2 pro-Palestine rally, which saw widespread chaos and injuries among protesters and police forces.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) director Zaid Malek accused the minister of unfairly vilifying protesters and told him to investigate instead the police’s alleged aggressive treatment and rights violations against rally participants.

“Instead of casting aspersions on the protesters, the home minister should have investigated the matter thoroughly before issuing his statement,” Zaid said in a statement today. 

“In his eagerness to condemn protesters, he forgets that his duty is to the rakyat who have a right to peacefully assemble under Article 10(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution. 

“It is not his job to blindly accept the police account of what happened and act as their defender,” the lawyer added.

Zaid added that Saifuddin and the police should bear in mind that their duty is to facilitate public assemblies - not to “intimidate, harass, or deter” the public from exercising their constitutional rights.

Zaid was referring to Saifuddin’s Oct 3 statement in which the minister had condemned the actions of certain “irresponsible parties” who attempted to obstruct the police from carrying out their duties during a rally outside the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur the previous day.

Saifuddin had also lamented that while the police were stationed at the gathering to maintain public order, some quarters had “gone overboard” and caused an officer to sustain injuries.

The rally, which was held after Israeli naval forces detained activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) vessels carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, saw the arrest of two individuals for allegedly obstructing the police.

‘Police escalated tensions’

Zaid claimed today that video footage from the protest showed police escalating tensions, which led to the scuffle, including by placing one demonstrator in a chokehold and dragging a female protester on the road.

“One must question why there was such a heavy police presence to begin with and why protesters were initially blocked from approaching the US Embassy.  

“Even when the protesters were moved closer, why were they barred from standing on the pedestrian walkway outside of the embassy?” he questioned, noting that the embassy and the public walkway are not prohibited places under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

According to Zaid, subsequent rallies on the same day and the following day proceeded peacefully without incident, proving that “there was no need for aggression or hostility by the police in the first place.”

The lawyer also raised concerns over the treatment of two protesters arrested during the rally - Kamal Aarif Kamaruddin and Isa Hazmi Zulkifli - whom he met at the Wangsa Maju district police headquarters.

He said lawyers were only able to see the duo hours after their detention, and even then were denied private access to their clients as required under Section 28A(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

“This is not only a breach of the CPC, but a breach of their constitutional rights to counsel under Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution,” Zaid stressed.

‘Video taken without consent’

He also condemned the circulation of a video recorded inside the police station when the two men were being processed for bail. 

The footage, Zaid asserted, was taken without the pair’s consent and was unrelated to the investigation. He also pointed out that the video has been uploaded online by a police officer.

“Is the minister (Saifuddin) going to keep mum on the denial of rights to counsel of the two individuals and the breach of their privacy by the police?” he pressed.

Earlier today, Malaysiakini reported that Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus had defended his social media post, which showed a police officer seemingly advising the two protesters who were detained during the rally.

In the 51-second clip, which Fadil shared with the caption “Kita bersaudara” (we are brothers), the officer appeared to explain police procedures while cautioning the two men about their conduct at protests and expressing support for Palestine.

However, social media users flooded the comments section, questioning the legality of a police officer publicly sharing such videos. 

Several also raised concerns about consent, safety, and privacy, noting that the two men’s faces were clearly visible.

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