(November 24, 1998) -- Human Rights Watch today urged Malaysian authorities to release activist Tian Chua from detention pending a hearing before a magistrate on November 30.
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At the very least, Tian Chua has a right to be brought before a magistrate within twenty-four hours, according to the Malaysian constitution. We are concerned by the extension of his remand detention but also by violations of the right to freedom of assembly in Kuala Lumpur.
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According to witnesses, Tian was not present during the demonstration itself but was arrested as he was walking away from the Kampung Baru mosque with a journalist and a diplomat almost two hours after the gathering was dispersed by police using a water cannon. Witnesses accused arresting officers, including five plainclothes police, of singling Tian out for arrest and punching him in the stomach at least twice.
Demonstrations in support of reformasi or reform, a campaign associated with detained former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, have become a weekly Saturday evening event in Kampung. While largely peaceful, some have involved bottle-throwing and other violence.
"At the very least, Tian Chua has a right to be brought before a magistrate within twenty-four hours, according to the Malaysian constitution," said Sidney Jones, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "We are concerned by the extension of his remand detention but also by violations of the right to freedom of assembly in Kuala Lumpur." Jones noted that Human Rights Watch had no problem in principle with government requirements that demonstrators have a permit unless the ability to obtain a permit depended on the content or message of the demonstration. Since September, it has been virtually impossible for supporters of the reform movement to obtain a permit.
Saturday's arrest was Tian Chua's second in three months. He was arrested and beaten on September 28 for taking part in anti-government protests.
