Malaysian Opposition Leader to Face Charges Over Protest

From New York Times

The Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and another leader of his party were expected to be charged Tuesday in relation to a protest last month in which the police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of demonstrators calling for free and fair elections.

Mr. Anwar and Azmin Ali, deputy president of the People’s Justice Party, received a summons on Monday informing them that they would be charged in court Tuesday morning, said Ibrahim Yaacob, Mr. Anwar’s chief of staff.

Mr. Ibrahim said the summons stated that Mr. Anwar and Mr. Azmin would be charged with participating in a street protest, which is illegal under the peaceful assembly act, and for breaching a court order by inciting protesters to break through barriers.

The street protest, one of the largest in Malaysia in recent years, turned violent after demonstrators broke through barriers around Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur on April 28.

More than 500 people were arrested, and some demonstrators have complained that they were beaten by the police during the rally, which was organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, a group of 84 organizations calling for major reforms to the country’s election system.

The government has pledged to introduce reforms to the election system, but the group, known as Bersih – “clean” in Malay – argues that those measures will not be enough to ensure that the next elections, which are expected to be called within months, are conducted fairly.

Bersih organizers estimated that 250,000 people attended the protest, but the police put the figure around 50,000.

Before the protest, the police had obtained a court order banning anyone from entering Independence Square.

Participating in a street protest is punishable by a fine of 10,000 ringgit, or $3,200. It was unclear whether the opposition leaders could also face prison terms. Andrew Khoo, a lawyer and a member of the Bersih steering committee, said that anyone found to have defied the court order could face a fine of 2,000 ringgit, six months in prison, or both. However, Sankara Nair, a lawyer for Mr. Anwar, told Reuters that Mr. Anwar could not be imprisoned for the latest charge.

Mr. Ibrahim said Mr. Anwar and Mr. Azmin would appear in court Tuesday and would fight the charges. They have denied claims that they encouraged protesters to break through the barriers.

In January, Mr. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, was acquitted of sodomy, a charge his supporters had condemned as politically motivated. Mr. Anwar previously served six years in prison on charges of sodomy and abuse of power, before he was freed in 2004 after the sodomy conviction was overturned.

He now leads the opposition coalition, which made historic gains in the 2008 election when the governing coalition, which has dominated Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957, lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time.

Mr. Ibrahim said he believed that the charges were “definitely” related to the next election. “Of course we know that’s what they’re aiming at,” he said.

A Malaysian government spokesman said in a statement that the public prosecutor had made it clear that charges would be pursued against anyone involved in inciting or committing acts of violence during the protest.

“To date, charges have been brought against various individuals, including two policemen, for events that took place during the protest,” the statement read. “Charges are decided on by the public prosecutor following receipt of police investigation papers.”

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