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Malaysia drops murder charge against ethnic Indians
Published on Mon, Dec 17, 2007 at 21:32 in 
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RELIEF FROM MURDER: Ethnic Indians were protesting against what they termed discriminatory laws in Malaysia.
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No ban on Indian workers, says Malaysian minister
The ban, which took effect from Dec 31, 2007, could further strain relations between the two countries.
New Delhi: After a month long stand-off, there's relief for ethnic Indians in Malaysia.
The authorities have dropped attempt to murder charges against 31 ethnic Indians who were arrested last month for taking part in anti-government protests.
Attorney General Gani Patail also dropped all charges against five students, who were among the 31 activists of the Hindu Rights Action Force who took part in the protests.
The charges of causing mischief and illegal assembly though remain against 26 of the protesters who go on trial on December 27.
The charges were slapped against the protesters for allegedly injuring a policeman during the rally.
A Malaysian court had earlier denied bail to the 31 protestors who had been arrested on four counts, including attempted murder of a policemen.
The lawyers for the accused had stated that the murder charge was a violation of their Constitutional right to "worship and assemble," and had asked the court for an honourable discharge.
Thousands of Indians protested last month against what they called discriminatory laws in Malaysia.
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