COMMENT | Authorities must respect freedom of assembly

COMMENT | On Aug 19, some 31 individuals were arrested after they had gathered for a vigil in Dataran Merdeka. The vigil was in memory of all those who died of Covid-19.

Photos and videos of the arrest made the rounds on social media, as we witnessed some of those arrested being dragged into Black Marias.

In the videos, some of those arrested had repeatedly asked the police officers whether they were under arrest. From the videos, none of the police officers answered in the affirmative.

The arrested persons were brought to Dang Wangi police headquarters, where their statements were recorded and each of them was issued with a compound notice of RM2,000 for alleged breach of standard operating procedure. All of them were released later in the night.

It was reported that the police claimed that the participants of the vigil were not arrested, but only brought to Dang Wangi police headquarters for "documentation".

However, it is quite clear...