Civil society groups that monitored the #Lawan rally last July said the police were “friendly” towards protestors but intimidation was still observed, including officers filming protestors and calling them up for investigation afterward.
In a press conference by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) today, eight groups jointly released a report highlighting violations of freedom of expression and assembly as well as online reactions toward the rally.
“Prior to the #Lawan protests, at least 28 investigations took place against the organisers and protestors.
“These things actually raise a lot of concerns around the well-being of the protestors and holding the state accountable," the report stated.
The group highlighted that, on the day of the rally, police officers recorded the faces of protestors, which could be used against them during investigations.
Indeed, dozens were called up by the police the week after the rally for investigations related to Covid standard operating procedure (SOP) violations and other offenses.
Police officers also showed up at the houses of activists and rally organisers, taking photographs and questioning their family members, leading to cries of "unethical intimidation".
However, the group said the police could be commended for acting with restraint during the day of the rally.
“There were also some good things. The police were friendly (during the protest), they were not hostile.
“Some observers were able to chat with them because they were friendly and found they were exhausted and overworked,” the group said.
The report praised the rally organisers for taking precautions and having good practices including issuing guidelines prior to the rally and deploying marshals to maintain SOP compliance among protestors.
“They had a Telegram channel, they reached out to the Bar Council and Suhakam (Human Rights Commission) and civil societies to be observers.
“They also distributed hand sanitisers, water, and emergency numbers during the protest, as well as having an on-site medical team,” it added.
On Aug 13, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said no cluster has emerged from the #Lawan protest which was held on Jul 31.
Online attacks on protestors
Aside from the authorities’ response to the rally, the monitoring team also found there were attacks and harassment by non-state actors toward protestors and organisers.
The group found that misinformation and hate comments were prevalent on comment sections of news articles about the rally, including personal attacks and threats toward individual protestors and activists.
“A lot of people said kesian frontliners (pity the frontliners), and some even said that if the protestors ever caught Covid-19, please don’t go to the hospital, just die at home.
“There were a lot of assumptions made against these protestors, saying that they are corrupted by politicians and saying they are manipulated by certain political icons for their political agenda,” said Serene Lim, a member of the rally's monitoring team.
Activist Shakila Zen, whose video on the protest went viral on TikTok, received a letter threatening an acid attack as well as a replica of a bloody severed hand on Monday.
She also received a text message via WhatsApp with sexual elements, that had a picture attached about the spread of an indecent poster containing her personal details.
The group also highlighted the actions of the police who released the photos of protestors, as well as Kuala Lumpur police chief Azmi Abu Kassim’s open request to media to provide images of protestors.
“Sharing of the pictures of protestors after the protest to the public should not be an acceptable form of investigation.
“It should not be tolerated. It’s a violation of people’s privacy, and people’s rights to attend any protest as they see fit,” it said.
In a statement, the monitoring team called on the police to immediately drop all charges against the protestors, and develop policies and SOPs, in compliance with international standards, to protect, promote, and realise peaceful assembly rights.
“Initiate a programme of legislative reform to bring its legal framework in line with Malaysia’s international human rights obligations, including by repealing the 1948 Sedition Act and substantively amending the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act, the 2012 Peaceful Assembly Act, and problematic defamation and national security-related provisions under the Penal Code,” the group said.
It also recommended for Suhakam to hold an inquiry into police actions relating to the #Lawan protest, and for the media to develop SOPs on covering protests during Covid-19 as they found many media personnel were not adhering to physical distancing instructions by marshals during the rally.
On Jul 31, hundreds gathered near Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur to protest how the government of prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was handling the pandemic.
This is not the first time the organiser, Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) has held a protest against the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Previously, black flags and effigies of dead bodies were displayed by the group at Dataran Merdeka to criticise the government over the rising Covid-19 death toll.
A second #Lawan protest was planned for Aug 21 but was canceled after the organiser said their primary demand had been achieved with the resignation of Muhyiddin on Aug 16.
The police's handling of protests in the country received criticism again after 31 people were hauled up during a vigil held on Aug 19 to remember those who died from Covid-19.
The event at Dataran Merdeka escalated as altercations between vigil participants and the police broke out, with some participants seen physically dragged into police trucks. - Mkini
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