Several thousand supporters of Malaysia's jailed former finance minister Mr Anwar Ibrahim gathered peacefully in central Kuala Lumpur today demanding civil rights and the abolition of "tyrannical" laws.
Surrounded by several hundred police, some with batons and shields, the crowd flooded into Independence Square and streets around the Human Rights Commission, SUHAKAM, dispersing about two hours later.
A water cannon nearby was not used.
The pro-Anwar movement marked the anniversary of the first conviction handed down to Prime Minister Mr Mahathir Mohamad's arch rival by delivering a memorandum on civil rights to SUHAKAM.
Mr Anwar's wife Ms Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told a crowd of nearly 1,000 outside the commission's offices: "What's important here is SUHAKAM has witnessed how we Malaysians could come in such large numbers in a peaceful way to hand over a memorandum and register our voices."
"I am very proud and very pleased" with her husband's supporters, she said later.
Journalists estimated up to 5,000 people turned up to mark "Black 14", the name given by opposition politicians and rights groups to the day when the first guilty verdict was delivered againstMrAnwar in 1999.
