Anis, who was one of those arrested for activities related to the Bersih 5 rally, was released yesterday, along with Bersih secretariat member Mandeep Singh; DAP members Ronnie Liu, Jimmy Wong and Lee Khai Meng; Parti Socialis Malaysia leader S Arutchelvan; and student activists Muhamad Luqman Nul Haqim Zul Razali, and Muhammad Safwan Anang. They were the first to be released following the preemptive move.

Anis said police made the arrests merely to intimidate government critics and she urged the public not to fear such intimidation in continuing to demand for a clean government and clean and fair elections.

“This should not stop us,” she said. “We need to continue the good fight.

“Right now, a few people have been released, but there are people who are still in lock-ups, including (Bersih 2.0 chairperson) Maria Chin, who is now being investigated under Sosma.”

Sosma is the acronym for Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, which was enacted in 2012, some say as a tool against terrorism.

Members of Parliament Tian Chua and Zuraida Kamaruddin of PKR and Anthony Loke of DAP, activist Hishamuddin Rais and Perak state assemblyman Howard Lee of DAP are expected to be released today.

Graphic artist Fahmi Reza, famous for his clown-face caricature of Prime Minister Najib Razak, is also expected to be held in remand until today.

Anis disclosed that she was grilled by police officers between 10.00pm and 3.00am before she was taken into a lock-up at the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent Headquarters.

“The statement I gave was not even used in court,” she said. “They took another statement from me when I was in the lock-up and that’s the statement that they used.”

She said she also received counselling the next day. “It’s obvious they’re trying to stop us from opposing the status quo and the counselling I received was just part of a brainwashing tactic.”

Anis, who was a spokesperson for the Tangkap MO1 student-organised rally in August, is still a student at Universiti Malaya.