Abuse of state-, police-power in Malaysia: repeated arrests of Uthayakumar with ZERO formal charges

Abuse of state-, police-power in Malaysia: repeated arrests of Uthayakumar with ZERO formal charges

Thursday, December 13, 2007 3:45:00 AM

Hindraf chief released in Malaysia

Venkatesan Vembu

As required by the law, Malaysian police were unable to bring formal charges against him within 24 hours of arrest

HONG KONG: Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Uthayakumar was released from police custody in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, without being formally charged.

The firebrand lawyer had been arrested twice on Tuesday, the second time within minutes of his having posted bail for an earlier arrest on sedition charges.

News of Uthayakumar’s release came as a surprise to his lawyers and supporters, who had been waiting in court for him to be produced to face fresh charges.

Under law, the Malaysian police were required to bring formal charges against him within 24 hours of arrest.

A throng of supporters gathered at the remand centre in Kuala Lumpur, from where Uthayakumar, who had mobilised over 10,000 ethnic Indians on November 25 to protest race-based discrimination and economic marginalisation, was released at about 5 pm local time (2.30 pm IST), Hindraf sources told DNA. He was garlanded and cheered, and slogans were raised in his praise.

Hindraf supporters with diyas in hand had also held a vigil outside the remand centre until midnight on Tuesday/Wednesday. Uthayakumar’s lawyer M. Manoharan speculated that police authorities may have been “frightened” by the extent of popular support for the arrested leader, and had therefore released him.

Speaking to supporters and mediapersons immediately after his release, Uthayakumar said he had been questioned in connection with some “seditious” statement he had allegedly made following the arrest of ethnic Indians on November 25, but that he had refused to answer them.

“I told them they were criminals, and that I refuse to answer your questions,”

Uthayakumar said. He added that he would not be intimidated from “speaking the truth” despite the series of sedition charges planned against him.

Earlier on Wednesday, a police team raided Uthayakumar’s office, evidently looking for “seditious material”, and to seize cyberdata from office computers.

Also on Wednesday, the besieged government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi came under pressure from a broad-based coalition of Opposition parties and NGOs to end the crackdown on political dissenters, including leaders of ethnic Indian communities, and open negotiations.

At a press conference, former Deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim read out a joint statement on behalf of the coalition, which called for a meeting with Badawi “to pursue the agenda of national unity and reconciliation among all Malaysians regardless of race and religion, press demands for free and fair elections and work towards resolving the serious problems we face.”

Recent events caused cracks in unity, and civil liberties were being eroded by the crackdown against civil society and political leaders, the statement added.

http://www.dnaindia.com/dnaprint.asp?newsid=1138898

Malaysian Police held Uthayakumar in lock up for 24 hours and released him
Thu, 2007-12-13 03:58
Kula Lumpur, 13 December, (Asiantribune.com): It was an exercise of vindictiveness. Malaysian Police kept P. Uthayakumar, Human Rights Lawyer and the Legal adviser of Hindu Rights Action Force of Malaysia (HINDRAF), at the Pudu Jail Police Station from Tuesday evening up to yesterday evening 5 PM and subsequently released him.

In the meantime yesterday Malaysian police raided P.Uthayakumar’s legal firm located at Bangsar, as well as that of his brother P.Vethamurthy’s lawyers office located at Seram Lam. “Asian Tribune” learnt that Police were looking for seditious materials in those lawyers’ offices, to assist in their investigation into the seditious cases they have already filed against the leading HINDURAFT members.

At Lawyer Vethamurthy’s office, as well as in the office Uthayakumar, Police very minutely went through all the documents and in the end they confiscated one Computer (PC) and a Laptop at Vethamurthy’s office.

In the meantime when Asian Tribune contacted Uthayakumar after his release from the police lock up at the Pudu Jail Police Station, he said that Malaysian police simply kept him in the police lock up for no reason at all and released him yesterday at 5PM.

He said when he lodged the complaint on Tuesday evening against the police for handcuffing him only in the right hand and for dragging him like a dog to the police station and thus injuring him. He said that the police took him in a vehicle saying that they are taking him to a hospital for treatment.

He said when he was taken in the police vehicle to the hospital, he saw about 500 HINDURAFT members and supporters outside the main entrance of the Pudu Jail Police Station, and they involved in a candle light vigil.

Uthayakumar also said that when he was taken in the police vehicle to the hospital, a handful of supporters were seen following the police vehicle in motor cycles. He said that when the police found people following the police vehicle in motorcycles, they turned their vehicle back to the police station and threw him into the lock up without taking him to the hospital for treatment.

He said yesterday morning by about 7.30 AM he was taken to the session courts. He added by 9.00 AM police brought a maximum security vehicle and asked him to sit in a chair in a cubicle in the vehicle and took him back to Pudu Jail Police Station and locked him up.

Uthayakumar said subsequently by 5 PM he was released by the police to go home. He said he could not understand why he was detained in the police station for more than 24 hours and later why he was released.

Sources told Asian Tribune that was the exercise of vindictiveness and revenge by the Malaysian Police.

When Uthayakumar was released yesterday afternoon, there were more than 1000 HINDURAFT supporters and well wishers outside the main entrance of the Pudu Jail Police Station to receive him.

People started shouting slogans when they saw Uthayakumar walking out again a freeman. In front of the police station Uthayakumar and leaders of the HINDURAFT conducted a press conference and then marched on to Koddu Malai Pillaiyar temple, located one kilometer away from the police station.

At the temple, a special pooja was held for the release of the 31 HINDURAFT members who are presently held without bail.

Today the appeal inquiry for the release on bail will be taken up at the Shah Alam high court, located at Selongoor.

- Asian Tribune -

http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/8697