The Malaysian Bar - 24 Bersih rally backers walk free

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24 Bersih rally backers walk free

Tuesday, 11 October 2011 12:56pm

©The New Straits Times (Used by permission)

BUTTERWORTH: Twenty-four supporters of the Bersih 2.0 rally charged with aiding an unlawful organisation and being in possession of subversive documents were freed yesterday.

Sessions Court judge Ikmal Hishan Mohd Tajuddin granted all of them a discharge not amounting to an acquittal at the onset of the trial.

Ikmal Hishan allowed an application from the prosecution to drop the charges against them.

Earlier, the prosecution had applied to withdraw the case based on Section 254 of Criminal Procedure Code which states that a public prosecutor is able to drop charges at any stage of the proceedings.

The 24, aged between 18 and 64, were arrested in a bus at the Sungai Dua toll plaza at 3.30pm on June 25 as they were heading towards Penang from Sungai Petani, Kedah.

They faced the first charge of having in their possession 600 copies of photocopied pamphlets of an illegal organisation, an offence under Section 48 (1) of the Societies Act 1966.

The offence carries a jail term of up to five years, a fine not exceeding RM15,000, or both.

The second charge was for giving aid to an unlawful organisation, which was the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, by carrying with them 600 copies of pamphlets bearing the words Perhimpunan Bersih 2.0.

The offence, punishable under Section 43 of the Societies Act, carries a maximum jail term of three years, a fine not exceeding RM3,000, or both. They were also jointly charged under Section 29 (1) of the Internal Security Act for allegedly possessing without valid reason, subversive documents.

The case was prosecuted by two deputy public prosecutors, led by Suhaimi Ibrahim, while the accused were represented by seven counsel, led by Datuk C.V. Prabhakaran.

Six others facing the same charges did not turn up in court.

They are Sungai Siput member of parliament Dr D. Jeyakumar, Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy president M. Sarasvathy, Sungai Siput branch secretary A.P. Letchumanan, branch president M. Sukumaran, Bayan Baru branch president Choo Chon Kai and Youth chief R. Saratbabu.

Ikmal Hishan fixed Oct 28 for mention of the case against them.

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