PSM 6 re-arrested under EO after release

Sungai Siput MP Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj and five other PSM members were re-arrested under Emergency Ordinance (EO) immediately after their release from seven-day remand at 2pm today.

According to their lawyers, the other members are PSM deputy chairperson M Saraswathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai, M Sukumaran, Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan and Youth leader Sarat Babu.

According to a PSM tweet earlier, they are to be brought to the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.

The group was released from IPD Kepala Batas, Penang this afternoon, but re-arrested by Bukit Aman police outside the station, said PSM treasurer A Sivarajan (left, in red) during a press conference outside Butterworth court.

The Emergency Ordinance is similar to the Internal Security Act, which allows police to detain suspects for up to 60 days.

Deputy inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said at a press conference today that the six were arrested under article 3(1) of EO, while the remand for the remaining 24 detainees will be extended.

"Under the EO, we can detain them for up to 60 days."

According to him, the police have intelligence indicating interference by foreign powers trying to "harm public order" and as such action must be taken to prevent potential violence and criminal activity.

Khalid said that a total of 150 people have been arrested so far in connection to the Bersih crackdown.

The six detained under EO are part of 30 nabbed on July 25 while aboard a bus at the Sungai Dua toll plaza, and the party members are being investigated under Section 122 of the Penal Code for the charge of waging war against the king.

On Thursday July 30, Penang High Court maintained that the six were to be remanded until today.

Cops a 'political tool'

In an immediate response, PSM said the police force was being “used as a political tool by the government of the day” and was a “gross violation of human rights” and pointed out that it was an “outright political decision” by the Umno-BN government.

“First (they called it) an illegal assembly, second it was sedition, third it was Printing Presses Publications Act, fourth it was waging war against the Agong and the link to the Malaya Communist Party (PKM).

“After all this political drama, finally it is now the Public Order and Prevention of Crime (POPO): Emergency Ordinance,” read an email statement from PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan today.

He said the “highly inconsistent charges” only shows the ill intentions of the authorities in the recent police crackdown.

The party secretary-general demanded an unconditional release of all detained, calling upon “all international and local comrades” to put pressure on the government.

An ISA-type detention law

Many human rights activists consider the Emergency Ordinance as more draconian to the ISA. Like the ISA, there is no need for a magistrate's remand order for this detention.

Over the years, police have resorted to the EO to detain or restrict the movement of those suspected to be gangsters and violent criminals.

It empowers the police to hold suspects for two months for reasons of preventing any person from acting prejudicial to public order, or for the purpose of suppression of violence, or the prevention of crimes involving violence.

After the initial 60-day detention period, the Home Ministry can authorise extending the detention without trial period for two years.

[More to follow]