Sarbaini’s family wants new probe

17/10/2011

PETALING JAYA: The family of Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed yesterday rejected the coroner’s court’s verdict that his death was accidental. Instead, they called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to be set up to probe into his death. Lawyer N. Surendran, who represented the family during a press conference in Merchant Square here, said the family could not accept the verdict as the coroner’s court had not taken into consideration several important points in making its ruling. He said among the reasons were the facts that CCTV recordings at the city Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Jalan Cochrane were tampered with and the MACC officer had become aggressive when Sarbaini went there to allegedly change his statement. “A police expert had testified that CCTV recordings at the time when Sarbaini was inside the building and at the time...
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Keluarga Sarbaini mahu RCI

17/10/2011
Keluarga Sarbaini mahu RCI

Surendran menegaskan tindakan itu bukan bertujuan untuk menentang sesiapa tetapi demi menuntut keadilan di atas kematiannya. PETALING JAYA: Keluarga Allahyarham Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed yang ditemui mati April lalu menuntut agar Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) ditubuhkan untuk mengendalikan inkuiri berhubung kematian Penolong Pengarah Kastam Selangor terbabit. Tuntutan itu  disuarakan peguam yang mewakili keluarga, N Surendran meminta supaya Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak menasihati kabinet dan seterusnya Yang Dipertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin untuk menubuhkan RCI tersebut. Surendran menegaskan tindakan itu bukan bertujuan untuk menentang sesiapa tetapi demi menuntut keadilan di atas kematiannya. Beliau mendakwa tiada ketelusan dalam inkues yang dijalankan kerana keterangan bahawa Sarbaini menerima rasuah adalah tidak berasas sama sekali dan hanya dibawa untuk merosakkan reputasi Sarbaini seperti mana yang berlaku dalam kes kematian Teoh Beng Hock. “Koroner yang menjalankan inkues membelakangkan undang-undang sedia ada apabila...
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Press Release : AG and Nazri Must Commit to Abolition of the Death Penalty

12/10/2011

Lawyers For Liberty calls on the Government of Malaysia to immediately abolish the death penalty which resonates the global call to end the death penalty as a form of punishment. The Government of Malaysia is urged to immediately abolish the death penalty, in line with its re-election as a member of the UN Human Rights Council in 2010 to reflect its responsibility in strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. This global call to end the death penalty is in line with the studies conducted throughout the world over the past seventy years which show the absence of convincing evidence that the death penalty is a more effective deterrent of crime than long-term imprisonment. The call for the immediate abolition of death penalty coincides with the fact that Malaysia lacks safeguards that would ensure a...
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Stop the persecution, refugees tell junta

11/10/2011
Stop the persecution, refugees tell junta

Myanmar refugees and local civil society groups held a demo outside the Myanmar embassy to protest against the military oppression against ethnic minorities in Myanmar. VIDEO INSIDE KUALA LUMPUR: Over 200 Myanmar refugees, including women and children, gathered today near the Myanmar Embassy here to protest against the ongoing military oppression against ethnic minorities back in their country. Backed by several local civil society groups, they handed over a letter of protest, addressed to their president U Thein Sein, to a representative from the embassy. The refugees, mainly from Kachin, Shan and Karen ethnic groups, held up banners saying “Stop killing civilians”, “Stop war crimes” and “Stop all offensives against all ethnic civilians”and one group of children help up banners stating “Why are you killing my parents?” They chanted:”We want peace! Stop the killing! Civil war… stop… stop!”, while...
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Letter of Protest to President of the Union of Myanmar, U Thein Sein : Stop Ethnic Cleansing in Burma

11/10/2011

PDFOnline.pdf-letter of protest
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Press Release : LFL Welcomes High Court’s Dismissal of Government’s Application to Strike Out BERSIH 2007 Police Brutality Suit

07/10/2011
Press Release : LFL Welcomes High Court’s Dismissal of  Government’s Application to Strike Out BERSIH 2007 Police Brutality Suit

  The Kuala Lumpur High Court, today dismissed the Police and Government’s application to strike out Bersih 2007 police brutality suit brought by Aleyasak Bin Hamid @ Hassan. On 12 August 2010 Aleyasak sued the Police and the Government for unlawful arrest, unlawful detention and assault by the FRU personnel during the Bersih 2007 peaceful assembly. The Senior Federal Counsel contended that the police brutality suit ought to be struck out as Aleyasak has failed to name each and every individual FRU personnel who had severely assaulted him during Bersih 2007 claiming the Federal Court’s case of Lay Kee Tee requires the victim to name each and every officer who is directly responsible for the alleged tortious act as a party to the suit as it was argued that it would be insufficient to merely identify the officer without...
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Slain trio’s moms want justice

06/10/2011
Slain trio’s moms want justice

Mothers of the three boys who were shot dead by the police in Glenmarie want the cops involved to be charged. KUALA LUMPUR: Disappointed with the lack of official response over their sons’ deaths, the mothers of the allegedly executed Glenmarie trio have demanded justice. Nor Hafizah Mohd Razali, mother of Syamil Hafiz Shafie, 15, wanted nothing but answers. “My heart is full of sadness. My son, Syamil, was my eldest, he was a good boy… I hope the police will start their investigations immediately because I’ve waited too long for one from them, but I haven’t gotten a response. “I want justice for my son, that is all I ask… he was my hope (anak harapan),” she told reporters in the Parliament lobby, unable to hold back her tears. She said this as Norriah Darus and Hamidah Kadar...
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Glenmarie Fatal Police Shooting : Memorandum of Protest to the Home Minister

06/10/2011

Memorandum of Protest to the Home Minister Putrajaya, 6 October 2011 Introduction The quest for justice for the police shooting victims at Glenmarie continues due to shocking failure by the police to investigate or take any action on the unlawful killings by the police at Glenmarie on 13.11.2010 including a 15 year old. Lawyers for Liberty is gravely concerned over the shooting to death of three alleged suspects by police during the early hours of Saturday 13th November 2010 at Glenmarie, Selangor. The dead were Mohd Shamil Hafiz Shafie, 15, Mohd Khairul Nizam Tuah, 20, and Mohd Hanafi Omar, 22. Although the three victims did not have criminal records, acting Selangor Police Chief Datuk A.Thaiveegan has made the incredible claim that all the dead were “seasoned criminals”. The police allege that the dead suspects were part of a gang known as...
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Najib’s ISA replacement laws are against democratic norms-N Surendran

04/10/2011

I refer to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s statement in the Dewan Rakyat today that the two new laws intended to replace the ISA will ” provide a balance between civil liberties and safeguarding public order.” This is a hollow and misleading statement designed to persuade the people of this country that detention without trial is necessary, and that their fundamental freedoms will be protected. It is important to remember that under the new ISA replacement laws, preventive detention will be allowed for both terrorism and public order threats. The PM in his September 15 speech cited the United States and United Kingdom as examples of countries allowing preventive detention. This was frankly dishonest of the Prime Minister. In contrast with Najib’s proposed new laws, the US and UK do not allow preventive detention on public order grounds; both...
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Govt seeks to strike out suit over assault

02/10/2011

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has applied to strike out a suit filed by a self-employed man, who claimed to have been assaulted by a Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) team during a Bersih demonstration in 2007. Senior Federal Counsel Isnan Ishak, who is representing the defendants, in his submission to the High Court here sought to strike out the suit on grounds that the plaintiff Aleyasak Hamid Hassan did not name the FRU personnel who had allegedly assaulted him. “The FRU personnel should have been named as the first defendant in this case,” he said. However, Aleyasak’s counsel R. Sivarasa argued that it was impossible to get the names as the FRU team personnel were wearing uniform that covered their names and staff numbers. High Court judge Justice John Louis O’Hara set Oct 7 to deliver his decision. On Aug...
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LFL APPLAUDS AUSSIE HIGH COURT’S DECISION ON ILLEGAL REFUGEE DEAL

01/09/2011
LFL APPLAUDS AUSSIE HIGH COURT’S DECISION ON ILLEGAL REFUGEE DEAL

"Court’s decision underscores the most significant aspects of civil society’s campaign against the refugee-swap deal"
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‘MCMC officers behaved like thugs’

20/08/2011
‘MCMC officers behaved like thugs’

LFL lawyer is outraged over MCMC’s insinuation that it is above the law. PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) today questioned a journalist over a picture she had taken during the Bersih 2.0 rally. But according to Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) coordinator, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, the officials had behaved like thugs in their intimidation and harassment of both her and her client. Fadiah had accompanied her client, Yusriah Yusof, a photographer with opposition mouthpiece Suara Keadilan, to the MCMC headquarters earlier this afternoon. Yusriah was being questioned over her picture of Anwar Ibrahim’s bodyguard, Fayyadh Afiq Albakqry, taken after he was hit in the face with a tear gas canister while shielding Anwar. The picture of his bloodied face were among the many circulated online in the aftermath of the rally as evidence of police brutality....
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Bukit Jalil residents to DBKL: Honour Saravanan’s pledge

18/08/2011
Bukit Jalil residents to DBKL: Honour Saravanan’s pledge

Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being deputy minister M Saravanan has given the assurance that no eviction will take place till a settlement has been reached with DBKL. KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being deputy minister M Saravanan has given the assurance that Bukit Jalil residents will not be evicted from their homes till a settlement has been reached with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). But the residents hope that DBKL will honour Saravanan’s directive and reconvene negotiations as possible. Speaking after submitting a letter to DBKL mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail today, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S Arutchelvan called upon DBKL to honour Saravanan’s words. On Monday, Saravanan had reportedly told a Tamil daily that he had instructed DBKL not to evict the residents until both parties reached an amicable solution. Although the residents lost their case in...
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