Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together (EDICT) chairman M Visvanathan said about 300 people are expected to take part in the event to be held on Friday evening.

“This year, we are holding a Zoom congregation since Kuala Lumpur is under lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Visvanathan said that over the past 12 years, EDICT had held these services at the confluence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang at Jalan Pasar, close to the Malaysian Bar premises.

“We will gather to remember the abused and the dead, and to remember broken promises by the authorities. We will speak of current cases and rededicate ourselves to ending the scourge of deaths in custody,” he said.

He said several MPs, assemblymen, civil society leaders and family members of those who died in custody would be speaking at the event.

“Those following the memorial service are encouraged to light a candle in solidarity for families who have lost their loved ones,” he said, adding that the event was also held as a mark of respect for those who succumbed to Covid-19.

Visvanathan said EDICT had received 25 reports of death in custody since early 2020.

He said that according to parliamentary answers by the home minister on March 30, 2017, there were 110 deaths in police lockups and 1,619 deaths in prison between 2010 and 2016.