The raging controversy over the treatment of ethnic Indians in Malaysia refuses to subside. On Tuesday, 26 members of the community were charged with attempted murder of a policemen in a banned anti-discrimination rally on November 25, where more than 10,000 people staged the biggest anti-government protest.The 26 defendants pleaded not guilty to four charges, including an attempt to kill a policeman during a clash at a temple compound in Batu Caves, just outside capital Kuala Lumpur.
"Other charges include causing mischief, rioting and illegal assembly," their lawyer M Manoharan told news agency Reuters.
If found guilty, the accused face a jail term of 20 years or life imprisonment for attempted murder.
Ravi Niko, another lawyer for the ethnic Indians, told CNN-IBN over the phone that the defence will raise "constitutional issues" against the ruling. "They have all been chanrged under Section 307 of the Penal Code. The defence will raise doubts against the charges. However, we do not know when the trial would start," he said.
Niko also told CNN-IBN how these men were arrested. "They were arrested yesterday and were taken to a remand home. Then, they were produced in court at 4:30 pm but were released when it was time for court to shut for the day. They were again produced again and were charged with murder," he said.
''It's very shocking,'' Manoharan told The Associated Press. ''This is a clear victimisation of the Indians by bringing forth a malicious prosecution that is race-based.''
All accused are aged between 19 and 46 and were remanded pending another court appearance on Wednesday. They were released on bail but police rearrested them at their homes before dawn on Tuesday in a surprise raid, Manoharan was quoted as saying.
The 10,000-strong rally was the largest protest involving Indians on the streets of Malaysia in at least a decade.
They were protesting the affirmative action policy of the Malaysian government and were also supporting a $4-trillion lawsuit filed in London in August by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), a rights group demanding that Britain compensate Malaysian Indians for bringing their ancestors to the country as indentured laborers and exploiting them.
They say discrimination persists in Malaysia because of the policy favouring Malays, who form about 60 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people. They also complain of religious discrimination, citing state authorities' demolition of several Hindu temples in recent years.
More than two-thirds of ethnic Indians - the country's second-largest minority population after ethnic Chinese - who are mostly Hindus and constitute about eight percent of the population, live in poverty.
They also complain the government is becoming increasingly Islamic and is denying them their religious rights, citing the demolition of dozens of Hindu temples.
''It's very shocking,'' Manoharan told The Associated Press. ''This is a clear victimisation of the Indians by bringing forth a malicious prosecution that is race-based.''
All accused are aged between 19 and 46 and were remanded pending another court appearance on Wednesday. They were released on bail but police rearrested them at their homes before dawn on Tuesday in a surprise raid, Manoharan was quoted as saying.
The 10,000-strong rally was the largest protest involving Indians on the streets of Malaysia in at least a decade.
They were protesting the affirmative action policy of the Malaysian government and were also supporting a $4-trillion lawsuit filed in London in August by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), a rights group demanding that Britain compensate Malaysian Indians for bringing their ancestors to the country as indentured laborers and exploiting them.
They say discrimination persists in Malaysia because of the policy favouring Malays, who form about 60 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people. They also complain of religious discrimination, citing state authorities' demolition of several Hindu temples in recent years.
More than two-thirds of ethnic Indians - the country's second-largest minority population after ethnic Chinese - who are mostly Hindus and constitute about eight percent of the population, live in poverty.
They also complain the government is becoming increasingly Islamic and is denying them their religious rights, citing the demolition of dozens of Hindu temples.
