Undergraduate Khalid Ismath was asked questions of a sexual nature when he was interrogated over claims that he had kicked a traffic police officer during the Bersih 3.0 rally on April 28.
Khalid (centre in photo) was asked such questions when he was held for about 26 hours by the police, before a magistrate rejected their request to remand him, his lawyer Latheefa Koya (right in photo) said today.
"He was asked why he joined Bersih, and whether he knew that Bersih supports LGBTs. He was repeatedly asked if he is involved with LGBTs and if he likes to masturbate," Latheefa told a press conference.
Khalid was arrested when he voluntarily went to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters last Saturday to assist with investigations into the allegation against him.
Latheefa, who is PKR legal bureau head, said he was also asked if he knows that Facebook is owned by a Jewish person and that his Internet subscription fees go straight into Jewish pockets.
"What has this got to do with the claim that he assaulted a police officer?" she asked.
Khalid is also being investigated for allegedly posting a message on his Facebook account saying that police deserve to be killed after what they did during the Bersih 3.0 rally.
Latheefa said that, while Khalid was not physically assaulted, the first year UiTM law student appeared to have been taunted by his interrogators when he was left without legal aid.
"(Khalid) was given a form to sign without explanation and it was a form to allow police to question him without a lawyer present," she said.
Khalid, who was at the press conference today, had told her that police would tell others who walked into the interrogation room that he had tried to "kill a cop".
"When he was taken from the Cheras police district headquarters to Dang Wangi police station he was told by police ‘You'll be a goner tonight’," she said.
She said Khalid informed her that his interrogators had placed a rubber hose and a coat hanger on the table in front of him, but quickly removed the items when his lawyer came into the room.
"He was also put in front of other detainees who were threatened by police. He said he closed his eyes out of fear but heard the detainees being assaulted...What is their agenda?" she asked, adding that Khalid maintains his innocence.
‘Political persecution’
PKR vice-president and lawyer N Surendran said his client, R Thangam, who was arrested on May 1 in relation to the Dataran Merdeka barrier breach, was asked political questions.
"He was not interrogated at Dang Wangi but dragged to Bukit Aman for the special interrogation. The teams took turns to interrogate him throughout the night, not allowing him to sleep," he said.
The experiences of both Khalid and Thangam (left) , he said, have made it difficult for lawyers to advise those whose photos have been displayed by the police and who have been told to come forward.
"The police said they have the addresses of most of the people, so why the need to display the photos? Why not issue a summons under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code for them to come to the police station?
"Why put (their photos) on national media and embarrass them? This shows a political agenda.”
Surendran further said that some of those whose photos have been displayed are mulling defamation suits.
He added that two more arrests have been made this morning in relation to Bersih, involving Hulu Selangor councillor K Suppiah and PKR Youth exco member Farhan Ibrahim.
PKR information chief Muhammad Nur Manuty's aide, Musa Zarudin Mustafa ,was arrested on May 2 and has not been contactable since.
The lawyers believe that he was detained in relation to the Bersih 3.0 rally, although the police claimed he is under investigation for possession of narcotics.
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