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Anti-ISA protesters found guilty of illegal assembly
Free Malaysia Today - February 22, 2012
In her verdict, Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad said the prosecution had successfully proven beyond reasonable doubt that the 16 had participated in the illegal assembly.
All were sentenced to one day of jail and fined RM2,000 each. Ainul, however, allowed a stay of execution of the imprisonment pending an appeal.
Present at the court today were PKR vice presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar and Tian Chua, Suaram coordinator E Nalini and Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S Arutchelvan.
The judge also issued arrest warrants against three of the defendants, Norazam Sakib, Syaza Muaz Shaharuddin and Mohamad Sukri Mohammed Sirat for being absent today without valid reason.
The 16 defendants were among the many hundreds detained near Masjid Negara for being involved in an anti-ISA demostration in August 2009. The detainees were then held at the Cheras police training camp before being moved to the Bukit Jalil police station.
At a press conference later, the defendants lead counsel Ahmad Zamri Khuzaimi said the verdict was a political prosecution against those who were fighting for their rights.
"The sentence is against the government's plan to abolish ISA and the amendment made to Section 27 of the Police Act recently which no longer requires a police permit for an assembly," said Zamri.
PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya said the sentence lacked judicial discretion. "The 16 people spend three days in prison under remand. She (the judge) should have taken that into consideration,"said Latheefa.
Alhtough the sentence was at a minimum, Latheefa said the court should not have criminalised them as their activities were no longer considered an offence under the new Peaceful Assembly Act.
"Instead of treating them as heroes, the court had criminalised their actions instead," she said.
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