Seven activists probed for sedition over planned second #Lawan protest

 

Seven activists are being investigated for sedition over their role in planning for a second #Lawan protest.

Lawyer Rajsurian Pillai told Malaysiakini all seven of them went to IPD Dang Wangi at 10am today to have their statements taken before they were released around 11.40am without any arrest made.

The seven activists were Mohammad Asraf Sharafi Mohammad Azhar, Mohamad Abdullah Alshatry, Qyira Yusri, Tharmalinggam Pillai, Dobby Chew, and Sevan Doraisamy.

All of them are affiliated with Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR), the organiser of the last #Lawan protest.

They were investigated under Section 4 of the 1948 Sedition Act for publishing seditious contents; and Section 233 of the 1998 Communication and Multimedia Act for sharing offensive and menacing content.

Rajsurian said multiple reports were made by the public against the planned gathering at Dataran Merdeka on coming Aug 21, leading to police calling the activists in for investigation.

Some of the activists were already investigated by police recently for their participation in the #Lawan protest last month.

Speaking to the media after their release, Asraf described the police investigation and the use of the 1948 Sedition Act as intimidation from the authorities.

“The use of the Sedition Act is excessive. This is a form of intimidation towards activists who are only expressing their views and using our rights as Malaysians under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.

“We can still accept it if we were investigated under other laws, but the Sedition Act is too much.

“This shows there are parties who feel uneasy with our movements and demands,” he said.

Asraf vowed all the activists will continue their movement and demands, and won’t succumb to the pressure from the authorities.

“We’d like to state that SSR will not retreat, we will keep voicing our demands until prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigns.

Last week, SSR announced it is planning a “bigger” protest on August 21 following the first protest last month, after their demand for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to step down was ignored.

Hundreds of protestors defied the movement control order (MCO) and turned up in black shirts on July 31 around Dataran Merdeka.

They demanded Muhyiddin’s resignation over his government’s alleged failure to manage the Covid-19 pandemic in view of record-breaking cases and deaths. - Mkini