Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) condemns the police handling of student activist Aliefah as an abuse of power and a breach of due process.
Aliefah’s arrest was wholly unnecessary. A summons to appear voluntarily for questioning would have sufficed.
Instead, like student activist Abdul Qayyum who was also arrested under similar circumstances ten days ago, Aliefah was taken to Tawau Police headquarters and denied access to exercise her right to legal counsel.
In contrast, Umno’s youth wing chief Akmal Saleh – under investigation last month under the Sedition Act, Section 506 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act – was allowed to present himself at a scheduled time with his lawyer and provide his statement.
The unequal treatment raises legitimate concerns about selective enforcement and compromise of procedural fairness.
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After completing her 112 statement, Aliefah was confined alone in a room and further questioned by a group of Special Branch (SB) officers.
This is not the first time this has happened. Just two months ago, three youth activists in Sabah, including university students Muhammad Fadhil Kasim and Aliff Danial Badrul Akmal, were subjected to the same treatment after the Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 protest.
Under the Criminal Procedure Code, only a Section 112 statement is allowed in routine criminal investigations.
Forcing a second ‘intelligence statement’ outside this process is an unlawful and coercive tactic. It undermines the basic protections the CPC provides to witnesses and suspects – including the right to be questioned lawfully, clearly, and fairly.
Suaram calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Aliefah.
We demand an immediate explanation from the police as to why due process was violated, blatantly contravening Aliefah’s constitutional guarantee of personal liberty under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution. – Suaram
Azura Nasron is the executive director of Suaram.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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