KL lawyers urge brutality probe

KL lawyers urge brutality probe

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A group of Malaysian lawyers urged the government on Wednesday to probe allegations of police brutality on opposition supporters during April 15 street protests.

The Legal Aid Center, which represented 48 people arrested during the protests to mark the first anniversary of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's sentencing, said it had received complaints of harsh police treatment.

The center is run by a group of volunteer lawyers offering free legal services to the poor.

Fifteen of the detainees were charged on Saturday with illegal assembly and another with insulting the police. Another 32 were released and told to report back to police.

The center's chairperson R.Kesavan said a detainee, Azlee Johar, has alleged several policemen beat his head, neck and thighs and "even after he had fallen, he was dragged to the police truck, verbally abused, beaten and kicked".