The police summoned three lawyers who participated in a protest in front of the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, where they urged the republic to halt the execution of Malaysian Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam.
In a media alert, NGO Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said the lawyers were summoned to give their statement at the Dang Wangi police station today.
"Zaid Malek, Mahajoth Singh and Nabila Khairuddin have been called to give a statement to the police regarding the protest against Nagaenthran's execution at the High Commission of Singapore last Saturday.
"They will be giving their statements at IPD Dang Wangi on Tuesday at 11am," LFL said.
In a separate statement, another group of lawyers, Gerakan Guaman Rakyat (Gegar) called on the police not to treat protest participants as if they have committed a crime.
Citing Article 10(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution, its spokesperson, Muhammad Azha Salahudin said the Constitution guarantees every individual the right to a peaceful assembly.
"Any individual who is involved in the rally should not be classified as having committed a crime, even in the absence of a 10-day notice to the police as required under the peaceful Assembly Act 2012," he said.
Acted according to existing laws
Azha added that the lawyers had acted according to the existing laws to increase public awareness and show support to Nagaenthran, who is scheduled to be executed in Singapore tomorrow (April 27) over a drug trafficking offence.
Meanwhile, Dang Wangi district police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya when contacted, said the police have opened an investigation into the protest under Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act, and Rule 7 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act on public gathering.
"Police are still identifying other individuals who were present during the protest and they will also be summoned to facilitate the investigation," he told Malaysiakini.
On Saturday, over 100 individuals, including lawyers, representatives from NGOs, members of political parties and members of the public participated in a protest at the High Commission building in Jalan Tun Razak to protest the execution of Nagaenthran, who is said to be mentally impaired.
Nagaenthran was scheduled to hang on Nov 10 last year but was granted a stay of execution on Nov 8 after his Singaporean lawyer M Ravi filed an 11th-hour constitutional challenge.
Although the Singaporean High Court dismissed the challenge, it allowed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
The appeal was supposed to be heard in November but was postponed to March this year when Nagaenthran tested positive for Covid-19 on Nov 9.
A Singapore court rejected the appeal against his execution on March 29.
Nagaenthran's case has garnered significant attention from international media, with particular attention on Singapore's move to execute someone with an intellectual disability. - Mkini
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