All investigations into Bersih ended, year-old case closed, police to return all items seized from Bersih 2.0.
In a statement yesterday, Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah said the police’s decision to close the case against the polls reform group showed that her detention without trial was baseless.
Maria was held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) for 10 days.
“Bukit Aman police has informed me that all investigations towards Bersih 2.0 and me have been closed.
“More interestingly, I was made to understand by the police that the return of the seized items are on the orders of the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“Therefore it is proven that my detention under Sosma was without basis at all, and was merely a move to intimidate me, my family and Malaysians who love peace, democracy and justice.
“All slander and accusations that have been created against Bersih and the NGOs under it, besides myself, have been proven false, untrue and to be lies,” Maria said in a statement yesterday.
On Nov 18 last year, police raided Bersih 2.0’s office and seized 10 laptops, two smartphones and documents. Fourteen people were detained under a variety of laws while Maria was detained under Sosma.
She added that Bersih will remain committed to its causes, such as pushing for fair and free elections, a clean government and the right to object as well as preserving parliamentary democracy and defending Sabah and Sarawak.
“I want to stress that Bersih will not cower to any form of intimidation of this sort, and will still be committed to achieving our objectives.
“We do not have to be afraid because we are on the right side. Malaysians must be brave to speak the truth and to fight fraud that benefits certain parties,” Maria said.