Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Katrina Maliamauv called for the revocation of the RM2,000 compound issued to each participant of last night’s candlelight vigil for Covid-19 victims at Dataran Merdeka.
She also called for the police to drop further investigations into the vigil under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and other laws.
“The heavy-handed arrests of participants in last night’s vigil are the latest in a series of abuses of power by the authorities,” she said in a statement.
“It is disingenuous of the police to claim the vigil participants were not arrested but merely brought in for ‘documentation’ when videos of them being forcibly dragged onto waiting police trucks clearly show otherwise.”
Maliamauv also noted that the police had denied those detained immediate access to legal counsel, before allowing only two lawyers to enter the police station.
This was a violation of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution and basic principle of international human rights law, she said.
“Additionally, by aggressively arresting vigil participants and forcing them into close quarters, the police compromised public health measures and put them at risk,” she said.
She said the fundamental right of peaceful assembly must be restored, given the need for people to raise their voices in difficult times.
“The scrutiny of public institutions is important at all times, but all the more urgent when over 13,000 people have died from Covid-19. There must also be space to grieve and address the collective trauma of this devastating pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Nalini Elumalai a senior programme officer for rights group Article 19 said authorities must stop treating peaceful protests as a threat to be neutralised.
They should instead help ensure that the public can safely exercise their right to freedom of assembly, even during the pandemic.
“Authorities must stop using Covid-19 as a false pretence for petty arrests and the harassment of government critics.”
Last night, the 31 were nabbed for attending the memorial, organised by Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR). Many of them were seen being roughed up and dragged into Black Marias.
All 31 participants were later slapped with a RM2,000 fine each and police opened an investigation under Section 9 of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).