Activist lawyer Siti Kasim arrested

PETALING JAYA: Activist lawyer Siti Kasim has been arrested by police for helping a woman escape the clutches of her mother.

Siti was arrested on Saturday night after police barged into her house and detained the woman, her client.

The arrest, which was broadcasted on Facebook live and went viral, was initially thought to have been due to kidnapping but was later denied.

Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Fadzil Ahmat said that the arrest was not due to kidnapping but only for obstructing police.

“She was arrested under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duties,” he said when contacted after the video went viral.

According to Siti on a Facebook post, the client, who is an adult, had tried to leave her mother.

But the mother lodged a police report claiming that her daughter was mentally unstable and that her aqidah (faith) was in question.

Siti also claimed that the client was then “abducted” by police and the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS).

The client is said to have moved out of her parents' house to escape her "controlling" mother who allegedly strangled her.

She was questioned by JAIS before being taken to Hospital Kajang for a mental health assessment, and was released thereafter. 

She has been staying with Siti since she was released.