Malaysian court denies bail for 31 ethnic Indians

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — A Malaysian court Thursday denied bail to 31 ethnic Indians facing up to 20 years in jail for the attempted murder of a policeman during anti-discrimination protests last month.

"We are not allowing bail," Sessions Court judge Azima Omar told a packed courtroom. "The offences committed by the accused are serious," she said.

The judge said her decision to deny bail in the case -- which has heightened ethnic tensions in multicultural Malaysia -- was not racially motivated.

"This involves national security and has nothing to do with race," she said. "The larger interest of public and national interest are at stake."

The 31 are accused of wounding officer Dadi Abdul Rani during a demonstration at Batu Caves, the site of an important...