Press Statement 19 July 2013 Lawyers for Liberty are shocked and appalled by the heavy handed criminal prosecution of Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday that was further compounded when they were denied bail by judge Murtazadi Amran. They were charged under section 4 (1) (c) of the Sedition…
Press Statement Lawyers for Liberty condemns the burdensome, unlawful and arbitrary charge of blogger Milosuam (Yusuf al Siddique) under section 505 of the Penal Code at the Magistrate’s Court in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. This section criminalizes the act of ‘publishing or circulating statements, rumours or reports’ that are ‘conducing to public mischief’. According to Section…
Press Release 21 June 2013 Lawyers for Liberty will participate and be on Standby for Tomorrow’s ‘Blackout505 Suara Rakyat Suara Keramat’ rally. Lawyers for Liberty fully supports and will be participating in the ‘Blackout505 Suara Rakyat Suara Keramat’ rally at Padang Merbok tomorrow, on the 22nd of June 2013. We urge the Police to ensure…
Following the reported violence in Kuala Lumpur between Myanmar nationals, the Malaysian government has sternly warned them that they could face deportation back to Myanmar in the wake of the violence. Lawyers for Liberty urge the Malaysian government not to proceed with the deportation especially those from the Rohingya community as they are refugees fleeing…
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…
