LFL is deeply concerned with the increased crackdown on freedom of speech and assembly against opposition politicians, in particular the investigation for sedition against 28 speakers at the massive Stadium Kelana Jaya rally on 8 May 2013. Today, Parti Keadilan Rakyat state assemblyman Nik Nazmi was questioned for offences under section 9 of the Peaceful…
While we strongly condemn the unprovoked aggression against Malaysia by the self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu’s band of militants, we are nonetheless concerned with reports that at least 107 individuals have been arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (hereinafter known as SOSMA) – a security law that falls far short of international standards…
LFL is extremely concerned with the on-going witch-hunt against Tian Chua, PKR Member of Parliament following the report “Insiden tembakan di Lahad Datu konspirasi terancang Umno – Tian” published in PKR news portal Keadilan Daily on 1 March 2013 which has since been exaggerated and spun incessantly by senior government leaders, the mainstream media especially…
Lawyers for Liberty is shocked and outraged at Malaysia’s involvement in a CIA extraordinary rendition process that was recently revealed in Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition, a report by Open Society Justice Initiative. Extraordinary rendition is the transfer without legal process of a detainee, often “suspected terrorists” to the custody of a…
Lawyers for Liberty is shocked and appalled by the death of C.Sugumaran, 40 – all the more shocking and appalling since he was publicly beaten to death while still handcuffed. Despite public outcry, the police have claimed he died from a heart attack and have now proposed that a judicial inquest be set up to…
Lawyers for Liberty views with disbelief Special Implementation Taskforce chairman Siva Subramaniam’s statement reported in Free Malaysia Today (“Ministry adds on to stateless problem”, 23 January 2013) that seemed to suggest that Prime Minister Najib Razak and the National Registration Department (NRD) were doing a good job in addressing statelessness affecting the Indian community while…
Lawyers for Liberty fully supports the protest at the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya today by the Malaysian stateless, mainly from the Indian community for their lack of recognition and documentation as citizens. One should not be distracted by the controversy over the actual number as statelessness is normally a hidden phenomenon and…
Lawyers for Liberty is outraged with Corporal Jenain’s acquittal on appeal despite causing the death of 15 year old Aminulrasyid. We strongly urge the Attorney General to appeal against this decision immediately. There is overwhelming evidence to show why the conviction should be upheld. First, how was it possible that 21 shots…
Lawyers for Liberty views with extreme concern Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop statement in Parliament today that the government has no plans to abolish the death penalty – all the more shocking since it coincided with the World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October. The death penalty has no place in any…
Lawyers for Liberty views with concern the controversy surrounding the recent statutory rape of two girls, age 13 and 12 where the perpetrators, age 19 and 21 respectively were not imprisoned but sentenced to a bond of good behaviour by the courts. It goes without saying children and young people count as among the…
Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS) today arrested Faisal Mustaffa, Managing Director of independent book distributor Merpati Jingga in connection with Irshad Manji’s Bahasa Melayu translation of Allah, Liberty & Love – Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta. Faisal who was today summoned for questioning, on advice by his lawyer Afiq M. Noor of Lawyers for Liberty…
Press Statement While Lawyers for Liberty in principle supports the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on immigration problems in Sabah, it views with concern the escalating rhetoric and demands surrounding the RCI that may have serious repercussion on the lives and human rights of some of the most vulnerable people in Sabah including undocumented women and street children…
Press Statement Lawyers for Liberty views with great concern the 3 month jail sentence imposed yesterday by High Court judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof on blogger Amizudin Ahmat for breaching a court order when he published 11 articles on the alleged rape of an Indonesian domestic worker by Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim. While we…
Press Statement Lawyers For Liberty condemns the arrest and prosecution of whistleblowers Rafizi Ramli, PKR Strategic Director and Johari Osman, former Public Bank clerk under sections 112(1)(c) and 97(1) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA) following a series of revelations of corruption related to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) and its chairperson…
Press Statement Although Lawyers for Liberty welcomes part of the High Court’s decision today in ruling that the seizure of 66 copies of Zunar’s “Cartoon-o-phobia” political cartoon books and a collage depicting the Prime Minister and his wife was unlawful and a clear violation of Zunar’s right to livelihood as protected by Article 5 of…