Police intended to harm protesters, says lawyer

Lawyers for Liberty today added to the voices claiming police deliberately aimed their tear gas canisters at protesters during the Bersih 2.0 rally at Kuala Lumpur Sentral last Saturday, with the intent to injure.

Speaking in her capacity as a lawyer for the NGO, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said that the incident, which occurred at the main railway station's underpass, could have caused death.

"The police action is against international standards and was done in an attempt to injure or maim demonstrators... it could certainly have caused death," Fadiah said.

She made the comment in reference to police abuses during the July 9 rally at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).

The claim comes after PKR vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar and N Surendran gave similar descriptions on the police crackdown at KL Sentral, where PKR adviser Anwar Ibrahim's bodyguard was injured.

Nurul had said that policetrapped the demonstrators within the KL Sentral underpass, on both sides and fired tear gas from both ends.

Fadiah referred to a FreeMalaysiaToday videoin which a police officer is heard saying "bawah, bawah" (down, down) as tear gas canisters were about to be fired on the protesters at KL Sentral.

The lawyer also pointed out that there were specific instructions on the canisters that these should not be fired directly on protesters.

In a photograph provided by Fadiah (below), the words: "Do not fire directly... injury or death may result" could be seen on the canister.

Several Bersih and Pakatan leaders were present at KL Sentral during the rally, including Bersih 2.0 chief Ambiga Sreenevasan, steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah, PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim, PAS president Hadi Awang and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah.

Fadiah, who is also a secretariat member of Suaram, said that the human rights body was in the process of documenting incidents of police abuse during the Bersih 2.0 rally and the details would be published when the investigation is completed.

Baharudin family considering legal action

Earlier, the Lawyers for Liberty counsel announced that the son of the late Baharudin Ahmad, who collapsed during the Bersih rally and subsequently died, had confided in her that the family wanted justice for their father.

"They have said that they are determined to take (legal) action, and we (Lawyers for Liberty) will be informing the public on this (soon)," Fadiah said.

She said the last words Baharudin said to his son before he went out for the Bersih rally, after prayers, were "I will go out to the street to fight for justice for Malaysians".

Tens of thousands of protesters descended on Kuala Lumpur last Saturday, in support of the Bersih 2.0 rally to demand for free and fair elections.

However the rally was marred by more than 1,600 arrests, besides injuries to a number of rally participants and the death of Baharudin.

Police have denied responsibility for the death, saying Baharudin died from a heart attack not as a result of complications from tear gas exposure. - Malaysiakini