They were charged with trying to revive the communist party and waging war against the king. These charges are absurd and outrageous. There isn’t a shred of evidence to support the police claim.
All of them have been remanded for seven days under deplorable living conditions. The detainees went to court to seek a revision of the remand order at the Penang High Court which was rejected by the judge on 30 June.
Some women were ill-treated and assaulted with 14 of them crammed into a room meant for six only in Kepala Batas police station. The toilet, it is revealed, doesn’t work and those wanting to drink were apparently asked to drink from the toilet bowl as reported in Malaysiakini. It was also reported that a diabetic patient who asked for drinking water to take her medicine was given syrup for this purpose.
Two teenagers are detained separately in Sungai Dua in a room without lights. Both of them are unable to defecate because the toilet was not functioning.
Seven men, including Jeyakumar are being held in solitary confinement the Penang police headquarters.
The members of the PSM are people who are not prone to violence and they conduct their legitimate activities openly and according to democratic principles. They don’t carry any arms and they don’t receive any training in the use of lethal weapons.
They are dedicated to championing the welfare of the downtrodden, the marginalised and the helpless communities who deserve to be treated with compassion.
Their detention and the charges levelled against them are totally unjustified. How could these 30 unarmed Malaysians comprising 11 women, 17 men and two teenagers wage a war against the king? The charges are ludicrous and without basis.
Aliran would like to appeal to all concerned and caring Malaysians to send letters of appeal for their release to the Prime Minister and to the Inspector General of Police.
You may use the sample letter below or you may compose your own letter calling for their release. Letters should preferably be faxed. Otherwise, they can be emailed.
Kindly extend a copy of your letter to Aliran by fax: 04-6585197 or email: aliran (at) streamyx (dot) com.
SAMPLE LETTER BELOW
YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Prime Minister, Malaysia
Office of The Prime Minister,
Main Block, Perdana Putra Building,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62502 Putrajaya, MALAYSIA
Tel : 603-8888 8000
Fax : 603-8888 3444
E-Mail : ppm@pmo.gov.my
Tan Sri Ismail Omar
Inspector General Police
Ibu Pejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia,
50560 Bukit Aman,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +603 2262 6015
Fax: +603 2272 5613
rmp@rmp.gov.my
Dear Sir
Release of 30 political activists
We write to you concerning the detention of Member of Parliament Sungai Siput Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and 29 members of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia who have been detained in Penang.
They have been charged for attempting to revive the Communist Party and waging war against the King. These are extreme charges especially when there is no shred of evidence to support this.
We understand that they are being held under deplorable conditions which are not acceptable especially when Malaysia sits on the UN Human Rights Council.
As such we urge your good self to intervene in this matter and seek your assistance to facilitate their immediate release.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
Yours faithfully,
___________________
(Signature)
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