4 Questioned Over Vigil For Iranian Who Died In Police Custody

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Siti Kasim (centre) and Wong Yan Ke (fourth from right) outside the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.PETALING JAYA: Police today questioned four people, including two rights activists, over their attendance at a vigil on Sunday for an Iranian woman who died in police custody in Tehran.
Wong Yan Ke and Liau Pin Chun of Suara Rakyat Malaysia as well as lawyer-activist Siti Kasim had their statements taken at the police headquarters here this evening.
Wong said police had also questioned Iranian Davood Afkhami Zabol in Putrajaya.
The four are being investigated under Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act. The vigil was held in front of the Iranian embassy.
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Wong urged the police not to waste their resources probing a peaceful assembly and its participants who merely exercised their freedom of expression.
Instead, he questioned Wisma Putra for keeping mum over the incident.
“Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country but why is Wisma Putra so quiet over the issue?” he said, referring to the death of Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old died while in custody in Tehran on Sept 16 after the morality police arrested her for purportedly breaching the headscarf rule three days prior to her death.
The incident sparked protests in Iran where at least 41 people have died since the unrest began.
Siti said the incident should serve as a reminder to Malaysians not to allow moral policing in the country as it could be exploited in the name of religion.
“Those who exploit the religion will use force (against the public), but what kind of religion allows a punishment to the extent of killing those who don’t dress according to their standard?”
Two others who were supposed to be questioned today were unable to turn up.
Sisters in Islam executive director Rozana Isa told FMT that she’s still recovering from surgery, while Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy chairman S Arulchelvan said he had to attend an event in Perak. - FMT

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