Sixty-nine Burmese activists who were taken into custody on Friday for protesting in front of the Burmese embassy in New Delhi have been released, but 26 have been ordered to appear in court next week to face a variety of charges related to the incident.
Police arrested the 69 activists at 11 a.m. On Friday outside the Burmese embassy, where they were demonstrating against the Burmese regime's plans to hold an election later this year that will exclude pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained political activists.
During the demonstration, the protesters threw rocks at the embassy and daubed the embassy compound's walls with red paint. They also defaced pictures of Burmese junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe before leaving them at the embassy gate.
Protests near embassies are prohibited under Indian law.
Forty-three of the activists were released on Friday evening, but the remaining 26, including one Buddhist monk, were held in custody until after a hearing that took place at 2:00 p.m. today at New Delhi's Patiala district court.
Akshay Sharma, a lawyer for the Burmese activists, argued that the case should be seen as a human rights issue because the protesters are angry over the current political situation in Burma. He added that most of the protesters are refugees who have fled rights abuses inside Burma.
The court postponed a decision on the case until Tuesday.
One of the protesters, Khin Mar Tin, told The Irrawaddy: “We were not mistreated, but we were not even given water to drink. I had to twice sign a written agreement not to repeat my actions before I was given permission to leave. But we will continue our protests until Aung San Suu Kyi is released.”
The protesters said they rejected the election law that was announced by the Burmese regime on March 8 and the election itself, the date for which has yet to be announced. They also called for a review of the junta's 2008 Constitution.
In the past, Indian authorities usually detained protesters for 24 hours and then freed them, according to sources. Before their release, some were made to promise not to participate in further protests.