Bar Council To Sue Govt Over Lawyer Detentions
By Deborah Loh (The Nutgraph)
deborahloh@thenutgraph.com
PETALING JAYA, 15 May 2009: The Bar Council plans to file a civil suit against the government for the unlawful detention of five lawyers on 7 May and for denying them access to detainees.
Other defendants in the suit will be Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, and Brickfields OCPD ACP Wan Abdul Bahari Wan Abdul Khalid, Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan said today.
The civil suit was one of the action plans decided at the Bar's emergency general meeting today, called specifically to pass a motion condemning the government and police for the lawyers' arrests.
The meeting was attended by 1,428 lawyers, far exceeding the required 500 for a quorum. The motion was unanimously adopted.
The lawyers from the Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre — Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Murnie Hidayah Anuar, Puspawati Rosman, Ravinder Singh Dhalilwal and Syuhaini Safwan — were arrested after they had gone to the Brickfields police station to meet those who had been detained for holding a candlelight vigil outside the police station. The vigil was held over the arrest of political scientist Wong Chin Huat.
The lawyers were arrested after they had asked to meet the detainees and were denied access to them by the police. They were released on police bail the next day at around 3pm.
On 8 May, some 150 lawyers had gathered at the Jalan Duta court complex to protest the arrest of their five colleagues.
Ragunath said video recordings of the arrests clearly showed that the lawyers did not participate in the vigil.
"Denying them access to detainees is a travesty of justice. There is a need for lawyers to see the accused when arrested or interrogated so that there is public accountability," he said in a press conference after the EGM.
There was a greater need for public accountability in the police as they used more physical force than any other enforcement agency, Ragunath added, noting that the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) had clear provisions on a detainee's right to see his or her lawyers.
Hishammuddin should resign
Hishammuddin Hussein (Pic courtesy
of theSun)
The Bar Council also called for Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, as well as IGP Musa, to resign over the incident.
Ragunath took Hishammuddin to task for his remarks that lawyers should not think they were above the law. Ragunath said that police were also not above the law.
"For Hishammuddin to say that lawyers are not above the law is not a reply, is not a solution, is not what we want to hear. We (the Bar Council) had asked for an apology over the arrests, and he gave that response without even investigating what happened," Ragunath said.
He said while Section 28 of the CPC detailed the circumstances whereby police were allowed to prevent lawyers from meeting detainees, none of those conditions could be logically applied to the lawyers who had gone to the Brickfields police station.
The conditions are if police suspect an accomplice is involved, or if concealment, destruction or fabrication of evidence could result, or if there is intimidation of witnesses.
"I cannot see what or how these reasons apply for denying access to lawyers," Ragunath said.
Going all out
In addition to the civil suit, the Bar Council also intends to seek a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the matter, lodge a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to request an inquiry, and seek the intervention of the Chief Justice.
In the EGM motion condemning the government and police for the lawyers' arrest, the Bar Council noted that the lawyers were made to wear lock-up uniforms and were unnecessarily handcuffed.
The motion also denounced the police for deliberately refusing to give family members and the lawyers of those arrested any information about their arrest and the police's next course of action.
Calling the incident a "gross abuse of police powers", the Bar is demanding an unconditional apology from the government to the lawyers.
Lawyers should be allowed to discharge their responsibilities to their clients without threat or intimidation, it added.
London Police Commander To Face Misconduct Trial
ReplyDeleteThe Malaysian Insider, 23 May 2009
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/27281-london-police-commander-to-face-misconduct-trial
LONDON, May 21 - Metropolitan Police Commander Ali Dizaei has been charged with misconduct and perverting the course of justice following his arrest of a man last year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said today.
The charges against Dizaei, one of Britain's most senior Muslim officers, follow an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into the arrest, which took place in a London restaurant.
"These charges relate to an incident in which Mr Dizaei, in his capacity as a police officer, arrested a man on allegations including assault," said solicitor Gaon Hart, of the CPS Special Crime Division.
"A decision not to charge that individual was made by the CPS in August 2008," he added in a statement.
"Following an investigation by the IPCC, a file was submitted to me in November 2008. I asked the IPCC to undertake further inquiries and I received the results of those inquiries this month." - Reuters
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/letters_others/statement_on_recent_events_in_malaysia.html
ReplyDeleteThe Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) is a pan-Commonwealth professional association of lawyers and exists to maintain and promote an independent legal profession and the rule of law throughout the Commonwealth.
The CLA is very concerned by reports that five lawyers have been arrested in Malaysia following their visit to a police station for the sole purpose of representing their clients who had been arrested for illegal assembly. The CLA understands that the lawyers were denied access to their clients, detained overnight and subsequently released the next day without being given any reason for their arrest and detention.
The right to Counsel is recognised in Article 5(3) of the Malaysian Federal Constitution and is universally recognised as an important facet of the rule of law in all democratic societies.
The CLA supports the stand taken by the Malaysian Bar Council at its Extra-Ordinary General Meeting of 15th May 2009, where it condemned the arrest and detention of the lawyers as, inter-alia, an interference in the performance of their primary duties as lawyers.
The CLA calls upon the Government of Malaysia to respect the role of lawyers, as detailed in the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (adopted in 1990) and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (adopted in 1998), and to ensure that lawyers are able to access their clients without any hindrance and freely discharge their duties in the interest of effective administration of justice.
The CLA considers that it is imperative that a full and independent investigation into the matter be carried out as soon as possible and urges the Government of Malaysia to act accordingly. The CLA also urges the Government of Malaysia to reassure lawyers that they would be free to carry out their functions without Executive interference.
The CLA will continue to actively support the Malaysian Bar Council and the legal profession in Malaysia in their efforts to uphold the independence of the legal profession and respect for the rule of law.
Commonwealth Lawyers Association
29 May 2009
The Malaysian Bar website, 23 June 2009
ReplyDeletehttp://www.malaysianbar.org.my/bar_news/berita_badan_peguam/delivery_of_memorandum_to_the_pm_regarding_the_arrest_of_five_kl_lac_lawyers_on_7_may_2009.html
The President of the Malaysian Bar, Ragunath Kesavan, led a 14-member delegation to Parliament this morning to deliver a memorandum to the Prime Minister regarding the arrest of five lawyers, all of whom are members of the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (KL), on 7 May 2009. The delegation comprised the four Bar Council Office Bearers, the five lawyers, four Bar Council members and the Bar Council CEO.
The Malaysian Bar website
ReplyDeletehttp://www.malaysianbar.org.my/letters_others/letter_of_concern_from_the_commonwealth_lawyers_association_to_the_prime_minister_of_malaysia.html
Letter of concern from the Commonwealth Lawyers Association to the Prime Minister
of Malaysia
Thursday, 09 July 2009 12:23PM
Dear Prime Minister,
Re: Recent Arrest and Detention of 5 Legal Aid Lawyers in MalaysiaThe Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) is a
pan-Commonwealth professional association of lawyers and exists to maintain and promote an independent legal
profession and the rule of law throughout the Commonwealth.
The CLA is very concerned over the recent arrest of five lawyers in Malaysia following their visit to a police station for the
sole purpose of representing their clients who had been arrested for alleged illegal assembly. The CLA is disturbed at
reports that the lawyers were denied access to their clients, detained overnight and subsequently released the next day
without being given any reason for their arrest and detention.
In a statement issued on 29th May 2009, the CLA noted that the right to Counsel is recognised in Article 5(3) of the
Malaysian Federal Constitution and is universally recognised as an important facet of the rule of law in all democratic
societies.
On behalf of the CLA, I respectfully call upon the Government of Malaysia to respect the role of lawyers, as detailed in
the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (adopted in 1990) and the United Nations Declaration on
Human Rights Defenders (adopted in 1998), and to ensure that lawyers are able to access their clients without any
hindrance and freely discharge their duties in the interest of effective administration of justice.
The CLA considers it important that a full and independent investigation into the matter be carried out as soon as
possible and urges the Government of Malaysia to act accordingly.
The CLA will continue to actively support the Malaysian Bar Council and the legal profession in Malaysia in their efforts to
uphold the independence of the legal profession and respect for the rule of law.
Yours sincerely,
Mohamed Husain
President
Commonwealth Lawyers Association
3 July 2009
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/lawasia_endorses_findings_of_malaysian_human_rights_commission_into_arrest_and_detention_of_legal_aid_lawyers.html
ReplyDeleteLAWASIA, the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific notes the recent findings of an inquiry undertaken by SUHAKAM, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, into the arrest and detention of Malaysian legal aid lawyers in May 2009 at the Brickfields Police Station. The lawyers were present at the police station to represent clients, protestors arrested earlier for participating in a candlelight vigil.
LAWASIA supported the Malaysian Bar Council, as its member organisation, in voicing regional protest at this action that violated the fundamental rights and responsibilities of both clients and lawyers.