Lawyers say Sivarasa and 62 others are target of selective prosecution

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid, The Malaysian Insider

Lawyers representing the remaining 63 people including a juvenile and a PKR leader who are still under police detention after being arrested for joining the anti-ISA rally yesterday claim they are the target of selective prosecution.

Human rights lawyer and PKR communications director Johnson Chong accused the police of acting under government instructions to single out the 63, out of the 589 people arrested, as hardcore anti-ISA activists.

Chong said, unlike most cases, the authorities have shown extreme commitment in pursuing this case, referring to the attempt by the police to extend remand periods to four days for those detained, including two juveniles, Ammar Bad Latif,13 and Suhaib Mat Sah, 16.

The Magistrate residing over the remand hearing, however, denied the request made by the police and the two were freed this afternoon.

Even so, the two will not escape prosecution and will be asked to return to court to be charged.

The zealous attempt to extend their remand order, said Chong, was definitely politically motivated.

The mothers of the two children, Nashita Md Noor and Norlaila Othman, who were also arrested at yesterday’s rally, are members of the protest organisers, the Anti ISA Movement (GMI).

Furthermore, Suhaib’s father and Norlaila’s husband, Mat Sah Sartray is an ISA detainee. He was arrested for his alleged involvement with an alleged militant group KMM.

“There were some 40 other juveniles that were arrested yesterday so why single out these three youths and release the other. This is definitely selective prosecution,” Chong told The Malysian Insider.