Malaysia: cops detain 9 for illegal rally

Malaysian police detained nine people on Sunday for holding an illegal human rights rally, lawyers said, criticising the arrests as an assault on the right to assemble peacefully.

The Bar Council, which represents some 12,000 lawyers, had planned a 2.5-km march in downtown Kuala Lumpur as part of a programme to mark International Human Rights Day on Monday, but called off the event after refusing to seek a police permit. Any gathering of more than four people in Malaysia requires police approval.

However, 40 people marched on Sunday, holding banners that read “Lawyers for the freedom of assembly” and “Government that abuses human rights is terrorist”.

Local police chief Che Hamzah Che Ismail was quoted by the national Bernama news agency as saying that eight people, including four lawyers, were detained for illegal assembly after defying an order to disperse.