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…
Lawyers For Liberty condemns the tabling of the Securities Offences (Special Measures) Bill on 10 April 2012 in the Dewan Rakyat as the bill clearly appears to be an affront to the fundamental liberties guaranteed under Part II of the Federal Constitution. While we note that the bill has repealed the archaic Internal Security Act…
Lawyers for Liberty has obtained photographs that affirmatively showed Hamza Kashgari was actually in the country for a couple of days before his arrest on 9 February 2012 (please see the attached photos). The Home Minister and the police had continuously maintained that Hamza was arrested upon his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport…
Press Statement Lawyers for Liberty is appalled by Judge Rohana Yusof’s summary dismissal of Hamza Kashgari’s habeas corpus application today on the ground that it was “academic” since he has been deported. The judge also failed to allow or even to make a ruling on Hamza’s lawyers application to cross examine the immigration officers who…
Press Statement Lawyers for Liberty is simply astonished and outraged at Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and PDRM’s continuing attempt to spin further lies and deceit over the illegal and unconstitutional detention and deportation of Hamza Kashgari by now alleging or insinuating that he is a “criminal” or “terrorist” wanted by his home country. The truth…
Lawyers for Liberty is extremely concerned with the safety and welfare of Saudi Arabian writer Hamza Kashgari, 23, who was arrested last Thursday by the Malaysian police at KLIA while trying to board a plane to leave the country. Hamza Kashgari was forced to flee Saudi Arabia after his twitter comments which had allegedly insulted…
Lawyers For Liberty condemns Kedah Chief Minister Azizan Abdul Razak’s vehement defence of the use of the oppressive Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) against five University College Insaniah (KUIN) students for taking part in a demonstration in the university. The use of the UUCA against the five students is a clear breach of…
Lawyers For Liberty condemns the act of police brutality inflicted on student activists who were peacefully assembling to demand academic freedom in front of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) on January 1,2012 at about 12.30am. The police have unlawfully used excessive force against peaceful and unarmed students in their attempt to disperse the students.A number…
Lawyers For Liberty condemns the tabling of the Freedom of Assembly Bill in Dewan Rakyat today as the Bill clearly appears to be an affront to the constitutional guarantee of the right to peaceful assembly which is enshrined in Article 10(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution. The Prime Minister has once again reneged on his public…
On this year’s Malaysia Day, Prime Minister Najib Razak surprised the nation by announcing that the draconian Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) will be abolished in the hope of building a nation that “practices functional and inclusive democracy where peace and public order are safeguarded in line with the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule…
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) refers to the statement made by Perkasa representative Irwan Fahmi Ideris against the recently banned “Seksualiti Merdeka” annual festival and Bersih chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s scheduled involvement in officiating it. We are outraged at this display of prejudice and intolerance. Perkasa’s attack is against the freedom of speech and expression which is accorded to every…
The Court of Appeal today ruled that section 15(5)(a) of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) is in breach of Article 10 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Section 15(5)(a) of UUCA prohibits students from expressing their support, sympathy or opposition to any political party and in breach…