AROUND 30 people gathered at a rally this evening to remember victims of custodial deaths after receiving a late approval from the police.

The rally – dubbed the “Black Thursday” gathering – took place opposite the Bar Council building in Kuala Lumpur, with the presence of police who observed the proceedings.

Human rights group Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together’s (EDICT) executive director Khalid Mohd Ismath said he had received a WhatsApp message from an inspector in Dang Wangi police station giving the go ahead for the gathering.

Khalid said the approval was given to him around 3pm today along with a few conditions to follow.

“The inspector told us to shorten the gathering to 30-minutes and advised us not to use abusive words when giving out speeches.

“So, we’re thankful that the approval was given and in due respect, we hope that we complied with his request,” Khalid told The Malaysian Insight.

The police had earlier told the organisers that there was no consent from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the National Security Council (NSC) for the gathering.

The event started around 6.45pm and lasted around 30 minutes. Several police officers were seen at the scene but didn’t interrupt the gathering.

Khalid also said they are willing to cooperate with the police if they were called for investigations about the gathering, but hoped that police would be tolerant.

“If a few days after the event they (police) call us for an investigation, we will cooperate.

“But I hope the police will tolerate this time because this is a small event and non-political,” he said. – July 16, 2020.