[Joint Media Statement]: Section 323 Charge Deflects Scrutiny of Police Failure to Respect Constitutional Freedom of Peaceful Assembly

31 December 2025

We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, strongly condemn the Section 323 charge (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of one of the protesters and human rights defenders (HRD), Isa Hazmi Zulkifli. Hazmi was one of the two previously arrested on 2 October 2025 following the spontaneous, peaceful protest held outside the US Embassy in response to Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla and the detention of hundreds of activists, including 23 Malaysians on the same day. 

The Section 323 charge is disproportionate, having disregarded the police’s role in precipitating the conditions of the scuffle. As plainclothes conduct escalated tensions—in particular, a plainclothes police officer feigning being pushed while blocking the currently-charged protester from rejoining others, followed by police use of force when protest participants attempted to de-escalate—the allegation of Hazmi “voluntarily causing hurt” does not hold water. 

Pursuing this charge also deflects due scrutiny from the police’s failure in respecting and protecting the participants’ constitutional right to peacefully assemble. The police bear a heightened positive duty to facilitate assemblies, given their “legal monopoly on the use of physical force to uphold the law and maintain public order and safety”, as rightfully noted in the Handbook on Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly. 

Police are expected to prevent conflicts, defuse tensions, and reduce risk of violence during assemblies through dialogue, mediation and other de-escalating measures  based on the principles of communication, negotiation, community engagement, restraint and minimal use of force. Instead, officers displaced protesters onto the main road - a disproportionate restriction on the exercise of right to peacefully assemble - as well as used unnecessary and disproportionate force to restrain participants and arrest the two HRDs. Such conduct is the opposite of a protective and facilitative approach to public assemblies.  

Additionally, the police had released a video, where an officer can be seen ‘advising’ the HRDs not to repeat their actions—even before any investigation had been completed—despite other video evidence and eyewitness accounts suggesting that plainclothes police officers provoked the protesters. Both the content of the video and its release undermine the HRDs’ presumption of innocence and their right to privacy, security and dignity, safeguarded under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution. 

The police response in this incident unraveled many structural gaps within the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) and inconsistencies with international human rights standards related to policing of public assemblies. 

We demand that the Section 323 charge against Hazmi be immediately dropped. 

We urge the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) to amend Section 8 of the Peaceful Assembly Act to specify the police’s roles in facilitating peaceful assembly in line with the Model Protocol for Law Enforcement Officials to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests (A/HRC/55/60) and the General Comment No. 37 (2020) on the right of peaceful assembly (Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) to prevent human rights violations during assemblies and to promote police accountability all around. 

Police officers involved in protests should be clearly and visibly identifiable through display of name badges, identification number, and rank insignia. Any deployment of plain-clothed officers in assemblies must be strictly necessary in the circumstances. These officers must also never incite violence and first identify themselves to those involved before any use of force. Furthermore, any use of force must meet the requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality, precaution, non-discrimination and accountability, and be in strict compliance with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

In line with the Model Protocol, the police should refrain from introducing undercover operations in the context of protests due to its deep chilling effect and risks of human rights violations. Any undercover operations, when justified, must be authorised and kept under continual review by a judicial authority and such authority should be provided with all relevant information to enable robust scrutiny of the legality, necessity and proportionality of any such operation. 

We further call on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) to conduct a human rights impact assessment of the Malaysian police practices during public assemblies, the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) and its adherence with international human rights standards. 

Endorsed Organisations:

1. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)

2. Justice for Sisters

3. JEJAKA

4. Pusat Komas

5. KL Queer Space

6. SIUMAN Collective

7. Suara Mahasiswa UMS

8. Liga Rakyat Demokratik

9. Federasi Pemuda Kebangsaan (FEDERASI)

10. Ikatan Anak Muda Tawau (IKAT)

11. Malaysian Protest For Palestine (MP4P)

12. HAYAT

13. Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)

14.  North South Initiative (NSI)

15. Centre for Independent Journalism

16. Angkatan Kesatuan Siswa Sosialis (AKSI)

17. Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (BERSIH)

18. Lawyers for Liberty (LFL)

19. Diversity Inclusivity Equity Malaysia (DIEM)

20. Pemuda Sosialis

21. Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM)

Endorsed Individuals:

1. JY Tan

2. Audrey Chan

3. Dr. Subatra Jayaraj

4. Fedya

5. Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar

6. AL Amirah Najwa Binti HJ Mokhtar

7. Zainab Binti Muhammad 

8. Jane Kassim

9. Mohammad Asraf Sharafi Mohammad Azhar