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11 protesters held as Anwar's trial resumes

KUALA LUMPUR: Anti-government protesters took to the streets of Malaysia's capital on Tuesday for the first time since elections in November as the sex trial of former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim resumed after a two-month break.

Several hundred protesters shouted "reformasi" (reform), the slogan of Anwar's opposition movement, and thrust their fists into the air in the first demonstration since a string of opposition arrests in September.

The protest near the High Court coincided with the resumption of Anwar's sodomy trial, which was adjourned in November ahead of snap polls.

Police, who stood by for about two hours, said they arrested 11 protesters before demonstrators began dispersing peacefully late in the morning.

But about 200 protesters reassembled near the courthouse in the early afternoon and resumed their slogans, shouting "Long live Anwar" and "Up with democracy and justice".

A police spokesman told Reuters that the 11 who were arrested were expected to be charged with illegal assembly. In Malaysia, any public gathering of three or more people requires a police permit.

The trial, which began in June, was postponed just before general elections which Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's coalition won. Anwar has denied the charges against him, saying they were part of a plot by Mahathir and his associates to destroy the former minister's political career.

The opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) condemned the arrests.

"DAP deplores police violation of the right to peaceful assembly and 11 arrests this morning, and demands a public inquiry into the police response this morning," said DAP national chairman Lim Kit Siang, a former opposition leader.

Lim said he had received reports that the police were "unnecessarily provocative and used excessive force".

Human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) also objected.-Reuters