PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today acquitted and discharged student activist Muhammad Safwan Anang from a sedition charge brought against him by the government, over a speech he made three years ago. A three-men panel today said that they also found no seditious elements based on the grounds of judgement from the Session Court which…
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court said it found no proof that another panel of judges and the Prime Minister’s Office had been in contact before opposition politician Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction last February. Unanimously dismissing Anwar’s final bid to reverse his conviction and five-year jail term, the Federal Court said today there was no…
Press Statement In response to Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan’s comments on investigations against NGOs 8 December 2016 I refer to Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan’s comments that were published in Malaysiakini report “Why fear if nothing to hide, Nur Jazlan asks NGOs” on 7 December 2016. I am surprised that his initial response to…
Press Statement Malaysia should recognise Rohingya as refugees 2 December 2016 While Lawyers for Liberty welcomes the Malaysian government’s stronger stance against Myanmar regarding the ongoing persecution of Rohingya in the northern Rakhine state, it should not act as though this is a new issue as they have been persecuted for decades. It was only…
Press Statement Protect the Orang Asli and their rights, not oppress them further 30 November 2016 Lawyers for Liberty is shocked and appalled by the Kelantan State Forestry Department’s and the police’s action in arresting 41 Temiar Orang Asli protestors and breaking up their anti-logging barricades and other structures yesterday in Pos Petei near Gua Musang. To…
Download here: Landmark Court of Appeal judgment on 25 November 2016 in Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei’s constitutional challenge on the Sedition Act 1948. Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei v Kerajaan Malaysia – Judgment (CoA)
PUTRAJAYA: In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal has ruled that Section 3(3) of the Sedition Act is unconstitutional. A three-man panel chaired by Justice Lim Yee Lan said that intention must be proved in every sedition case. Justice Varghese George Varughese read the judgement during proceedings Friday. He said Section 3(3) was in…
Press Statement Rafizi Ramli’s 18 months’ imprisonment sentence harsh and excessive 14 November 2016 Lawyers for Liberty is appalled at the18 months’ imprisonment sentence imposed on MP Rafizi Ramli by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today for breaching the Official Secrets Act 1972 when he revealed excerpts from the Auditor General’s Report on the misuse…
Last Friday, I received a telephone call from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) chapter of the Asian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) to inform me that my invitation to speak at their national conference on Sunday had been abruptly cancelled by the UKM administration, apparently on the account that I was “controversial”. I had been scheduled…
PETALING JAYA: Fearing harm to her three sons, Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin beseeched the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) today to take swift action after receiving death threats purportedly from local Islamic State (IS) terrorists. The electoral reform group chief said she received a warning through a WhatsApp message from an unknown phone number last…
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here dismissed today Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s constitutional challenge against the controversial National Security Council (NSC) Act 2016 on a technical point, his lawyer confirmed. Latheefa Koya, one of the lawyers who represented the PKR de facto leader, said the judge agreed with the government lawyer’s preliminary objection that the…
Press Statement Restricting Siti Kasim’s access to Orang Asli arbitrary and bad faith 14 October 2016 Lawyers for Liberty is extremely concerned with the Kelantan State Forestry Department’s action in blocking lawyer Siti Kasim from entering into the Balah forest reserve on 12 and 13 October in order to meet her Temiar Orang Asli clients.…
KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya’s crackdown on forms of dissent has worsened with the use of even more laws to suppress public criticism, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW). The global rights group said reported cases of Malaysians being investigated and prosecuted using an array of laws over the public expression of dissent have markedly risen…
KUALA LUMPUR: In exercising their powers, police should be “the face of human rights, and not a face to intimidate”, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) said. Its chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail (pic) said selected and intermittent training programmes on human rights are “just a scratch on the surface” to ensure that uniformed enforcement…
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has struck out a charge preferred on Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah over her alleged failure to give notice to police prior to a rally event last year. A three-man bench chaired by Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat held that there were merits to allow her appeal to…