PETALING JAYA, Aug 13 — Two volunteers from polls reform group Bersih 2.0 who were arrested late last night were released shortly after midnight by police who said the incident was caused by a “misunderstanding”.
The two men, Adrian Lim Chee En and Mohd Faddhli Abdul Jaid, were let go at 12.45am after being detained for almost two hours at the district police headquarters here.
Lawyers Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Michelle Yesudas who represented the duo said the authorities mistook them for trying to run away when they were caught on scene trying to hang up a Bersih banner at a roundabout in the city.
"They gave us access to speak to our clients. We are pleased with the police today.
"It appears to be some misunderstanding about the arrest. The boys were moving back towards their car and the police thought they were running away," Ambiga told reporters outside the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.
"This is the best experience I had with the police. They were quite nice to us and helped the boys," Michelle added explaining that the police did not question the duo.
Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah, who was also present, praised the police for their professionalism and for not holding the duo overnight.
"I'm glad the police here are nice to them and let them off tonight itself. They didn't keep them in for the night or remand them for three days," she said.
The duo were arrested at 10.30pm yesterday while they were putting up a banner promoting Bersih’s August 29 rally launch which will be held Friday at the Petaling Jaya Civic Centre here.
The Bersih 4 rally, which aims to pressure the government for institutional reforms, is to kick off on August 29 and continue overnight in a campout at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.
