Five questioned over Bersih, 18 more expected

Selangor DAP chief Teresa Kok was among those summoned to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters this afternoon. file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 Police questioned five more activists today as they widened their dragnet over Bersihs upcoming rally and are expected to haul in at least 18 more, according to a Bar Council lawyer.

The five Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah, Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez, social activist Hishammuddin Rais, PKR legal bureau chief Latheefa Koya and Selangor DAP chief Teresa Kok were summoned to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters here this afternoon.

Lawyer Edmund Bon, who accompanied the group, except for Kok, during their questioning today, told reporters outside the station that a total of 40 activists, including opposition politicians, are being summoned for questioning over Bersih.

He claimed to have received information that the 40 were summoned due to a report lodged by a police officer who attended Bersih 2.0s rally launch on June 19 at the KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).

The police officer was obviously at the launch and according to him, he thought the launch and the statements made there were a threat to national security. That is what triggered this off, he said.

It is believed Irene, Latheefa and Kok are being investigated under the Police Act and Sedition Act while Hishammuddin and Maria Chin are being investigated under the Police Act alone.

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