Three of the six Burmese nationals arrested last week for attempting to demonstrate outside the Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur were released without charge by the police today.

A spokesperson from the Cheras district police headquarters said the remaining three have been remanded for another four days. They are being investigated for immigration offences after being found without legal travel documents.

The group was among 40 protesters who attempted to march past the Burmese embassy bearing pictures of detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and posters calling for her release.

They were arrested for participating in an "illegal assembly" after they persisted in holding posters of Suu Kyi despite being ordered by the police to disperse.

The demonstration also coincided with Suu Kyi's 58th birthday which she spent locked away from public view since her arrest on May 30 following clashes between her supporters and pro-government groups.

State persecution

It was learnt that the only woman to be arrested, Mu Mu Kyaw Lwin, 37, will leave for Canada this evening where she has been granted refugee resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

It could not be ascertained if the other two released are registered with the UNHCR as asylum seekers, although malaysiakini reported last week that two out of the six had submitted their refugee applications to the agency.

When contacted, UNHCR protection officer Shinji Kubo declined to comment on the development beyond saying that the agency was still verifying if the Burmese nationals had requested UNHCR intervention.

Meanwhile, seven Burmese Rohingyas, who were arrested after they attempted to climb into the United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur, remain in police custody pending investigations.

The group, which had intended to seek asylum at the embassy, was arrested by security personnel posted outside the mission compound.

Malaysia is host to a large community of Burmese nationals claiming to have fled from government-sponsored persecution in their home states in Burma.

There are an estimated 10,000 undocumented Rohingyas living in Malaysia. There are also smaller communities of asylum seekers from the Chin and Karen minority groups.