Several human rights lawyers believe that at least 29 individuals were arrested during today's mass rally in the national capital and 24 have been released so far.

Lawyer Edmund Bon, who was part of the Bar Council's delegation observing the rally, said 24 individuals have been released unconditionally thus far.

The detainees were held at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters at Jalan Hang Tuah and were freed in batches between 6.30pm and 8pm.

Bon said the lawyers have sent five individuals for medical attention at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). The lawyers found later that the police had also sent another detainee to HKL for medical attention.

However, Bernama reported police chief Musa Hassan as saying that 245 people were arrested and released after their statements were taken.

More may be arrested

Bon was among some 15 lawyers stationed at the KL police headquarters where the detainees were held. But it could not be ascertained if there are detainees being held elsewhere.

Meanwhile, lawyer Latheefa Koya who is among the lawyers stationed at the police headquarters lamented that the lawyers were denied access to the detainees.

"This is ridiculous considering that there have been recent amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code which compels the police to grant detainees immediate access to lawyers," she said.

The mass rally today was organised by polls reform coalition Bersih.

The event momentarily took an unpleasant turn when police fired eye-irritants into the crowd and made arrests.

But the event was generally incident-free and observers have praised the retraint exercised by both sides.

The protesters dispersed peacefully after their leaders handed over a memorandum urging electoral reforms to Istana Negara.

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