Wednesday 9 May 2012

Activist: Cops kept me in custody despite court order

Student activist Khalid Ismath claimed that the police continued to hold him in custody despite an order by the magistrate for his release.

“(After the magistrate’s order), they still kept me in custody, asking me questions unrelated to the accusations against me,” he said during a press conference at the Lawyers for Liberty office today.

He had voluntarily gone to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters last Saturday to assist in the investigation and prove his innocence, but was instead arrested and asked questions of a sexual nature, according to him.

On Sunday morning, the Dang Wangi police had sought an additional four-day remand from the magistrate’s court, but admitted to the magistrate that they had no other evidence to show.

NONEHowever, the Dang Wangi police held him until 3pm on Sunday, claiming that a Shah Alam police officer was coming over to record his statement about a posting on his Facebook page, according to his lawyer, Latheefa Koya (right in photo).

The Facebook posting said: “I would agree if all the policemen be killed because of the way they have treated the rakyat (during Bersih 3.0).

“So every time we hold a demonstration, there is no more need to negotiate with the police again. We will fight on.”

Also in attendance at the press conference were Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) chairperson Safwan Anang, SMM secretary Haziq Abdul Aziz and Malaysia Bangkit chairperson Mohd Syahid Zaini.

Plans to sue Utusan, Kosmo

Khalid also added that he was taking legal action against several newspapers for painting him as violent, naming Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo as the two papers he plans to sue at the moment.

“I have discussed the matter with lawyers and activists, and will not hesitate to take action against the media which have published this untrue allegation,” he said.

NONETo prove he is innocent, he presented several photos of himself taken on the day of the rally, comparing them to the photos of the of the other man published in the papers.

“Any sane person can see clearly the difference (between me and this man) in terms of hairstyle, skin colour and so on,” he said.

Because of the published stories, he has faced harassment from various parties, according to him.

He also faces expulsion from UiTM if he is found to be culpable.

Khalid also claimed that Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah had declared on Twitter that the individual depicted in the newspapers was not him.

NONE“In a tweet, Saifuddin said that he obtained information  from a UiTM SB (Special Branch officer) saying that the image (of the individual) in the papers is not of me.

“According to him, the SB is always following me,” he added.

A check on Twitter shows that the deputy minister had retweeted in Malay: “Faculty resources said that (the individual) is not Khalid Ismath. SB (Special Branch) is always with Khalid”.

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