KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — Several student activists at the Sultan Idris University of Education (UPSI) who held a peaceful demonstration demanding academic freedom were allegedly beaten up and arrested early this morning after refusing a police order to disperse.
Up to 17 were arrested by the police at about 2am, said lawyer Fadiah Najwa Fikri. They were still being detained, she added.
The Lawyers for Liberty coordinator said the police had acted in a heavy-handed manner against the students, which resulted in one, Mohd Safwan Anang, the president of undergraduate movement Bebas, being sent to a hospital in Slim River after he lost consciousness.
“They were beaten up, kicked and punched. According to an eyewitness, some eight people were seen beating up Mohd Safwan who lost some teeth ,” Fadiah Najwa told The Malaysian Insider over the phone.
She said the undergraduates, estimated to number about 50, had held sit-down demonstration in the campus to protest the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) and in solidarity of another student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim from midnight.
The police, both uniformed and in plainclothes, had swooped in 30 minutes later.
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