Magistrate Maizatul Munirah Abd Rahman ordered an acquittal of the three after deputy public prosecutor Noorelynna Hanim Abd Halim told the court that the prosecution wanted to withdraw the charge against them under Section 4(2)(c) of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).
Lawyer Vince Tan, who represented the trio, urged the court to give them a full acquittal as the case had been dragging on for over three years.
Sim, Maria and Mandeep claimed trial in September 2015 to participating in the #KitaLawan rally on March 28 of that year.
Another Magistrate’s Court gave them a discharge not amounting to an acquittal order in August last year, but they were re-charged in October.
Speaking to reporters after the acquittal, Sim who is also Bayan Baru MP said they should not have been charged in the first place as they were only expressing their dissatisfaction with the previous government.
He also said his acquittal closed the chapter in his political career as an opposition member.
“We should not have political persecution anymore in the new Malaysia,” he added.
Maria, meanwhile, who is the former Bersih 2.0 chairman, said she hoped to see an end to other PAA charges against activists and politicians.
“We don’t need the PAA to curb our right to assemble. The act should go,” she said.
Activist Adam Adli was also acquitted of his charge of participating in the rally last November.
The #KitaLawan rally saw thousands gathering at Jalan Tun Perak, near Dataran Merdeka, and marching to the Sogo shopping mall on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
The rally was called to protest Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy 2 conviction and the impending implementation of the goods and services tax.