Haris Ibrahim, another human rights defender becomes victim to the draconian Sedition Act...section 4(1)(b) - Any person who.. utters any seditious words.
8 months jail is excessive for just words uttered at a public forum...
Seditious tendency is vague - it is simply, amongst others, 'a tendency ...to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against ...Government. Intention ... deemed to be
irrelevant if in fact the act had, or would, if done, have had, or the
words, publication or thing had a seditious tendency.
The old 1948 Act, left behind by the British colonial government, is an affront to Human Rights, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Opinion and the rights of a citizen in a democracy.
Revisiting the Malaysian Bar Resolution on the Sedition Act...passed on 2014?
ICJ - Malaysia: Sedition investigation against Malaysian Bar members constitutes inappropriate interference
Guilty of sedition, activist says ‘no regrets’ (VIDEO)By Ida Lim
Thursday April 14, 2016
02:09 PM GMT+8
Activist lawyer Haris Ibrahim said he does not regret making the 2013 speech calling for a change in government. — file picture
KUALA
LUMPUR, April 14 — Activist lawyer Haris Ibrahim said he does not
regret making the 2013 speech calling for a change in government
although his remarks resulted today in a sedition conviction and an
eight-month jail term.
Speaking to reporters after the court’s decision this afternoon, the 57-year-old Haris claimed all he had done was express public opinion regarding the outcome of the 13th general election.
“So I have no regrets for what I said and I think I merely articulated sentiments of the majority of people,” he said.
Haris was referring to Election 2013 when Barisan Nasional (BN) retained federal power despite losing the popular vote by winning the majority number of seats in Parliament.
“So this was the situation where 52 per cent of the people had voted for change and we were denied that; the people were unhappy, I was unhappy, we felt we had been cheated.
“And if in this country, it has reached the point where citizens are not permitted to articulate that frustration — it’s seditious, then I think it’s a sorry state of affairs in this country,” he said.
Haris said that an additional bail of RM5,000 was posted today, pending an appeal at the High Court against both his sedition conviction and jail term.
This morning, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court convicted Haris of sedition after finding that his remarks had the tendency to urge Malaysians to change the government through unlawful means.
Sessions Court judge Shamsudin Abdullah also said that he found that Haris’ defence in relation to his remarks made on May 13, 2013 amounted to a “mere denial”, adding that the latter had failed to raise reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Before sentencing, Haris’ lawyer Gobind Singh urged the court to merely impose a fine on his client, pointing out that it was his first criminal offence and that the activist was also on numerous medical treatments, besides having two school-going children.
But deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad said the fact that Haris was a first-time offender should not prevent the court from imposing a jail term, claiming that the latter’s remarks “threaten the public’s peace, harmony and unity”.
When delivering his sentence, the judge said he had considered the need for the punishment to serve as a lesson to both Haris and the public, as well as public interest to avoid the jeopardising of security.
Haris was charged on May 29, 2013 under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act, which is punishable with a maximum fine of RM5,000 and a maximum three-year jail term.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/guilty-of-sedition-activist-says-no-regrets#sthash.HNy4BgWa.dpuf
Speaking to reporters after the court’s decision this afternoon, the 57-year-old Haris claimed all he had done was express public opinion regarding the outcome of the 13th general election.
“So I have no regrets for what I said and I think I merely articulated sentiments of the majority of people,” he said.
Haris was referring to Election 2013 when Barisan Nasional (BN) retained federal power despite losing the popular vote by winning the majority number of seats in Parliament.
“So this was the situation where 52 per cent of the people had voted for change and we were denied that; the people were unhappy, I was unhappy, we felt we had been cheated.
“And if in this country, it has reached the point where citizens are not permitted to articulate that frustration — it’s seditious, then I think it’s a sorry state of affairs in this country,” he said.
Haris said that an additional bail of RM5,000 was posted today, pending an appeal at the High Court against both his sedition conviction and jail term.
This morning, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court convicted Haris of sedition after finding that his remarks had the tendency to urge Malaysians to change the government through unlawful means.
Sessions Court judge Shamsudin Abdullah also said that he found that Haris’ defence in relation to his remarks made on May 13, 2013 amounted to a “mere denial”, adding that the latter had failed to raise reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Before sentencing, Haris’ lawyer Gobind Singh urged the court to merely impose a fine on his client, pointing out that it was his first criminal offence and that the activist was also on numerous medical treatments, besides having two school-going children.
But deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad said the fact that Haris was a first-time offender should not prevent the court from imposing a jail term, claiming that the latter’s remarks “threaten the public’s peace, harmony and unity”.
When delivering his sentence, the judge said he had considered the need for the punishment to serve as a lesson to both Haris and the public, as well as public interest to avoid the jeopardising of security.
Haris was charged on May 29, 2013 under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act, which is punishable with a maximum fine of RM5,000 and a maximum three-year jail term.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/guilty-of-sedition-activist-says-no-regrets#sthash.HNy4BgWa.dpuf
Activist jailed eight months over seditious call to change government
By Ida Lim
Thursday April 14, 2016 11:35 AM GMT+8
UPDATED:April 14, 2016 12:43 PM GMT+8
The
Sessions Court today sentenced activist Haris Ibrahim to eight months’
jail after finding him guilty of sedition. — file picture KUALA
LUMPUR, April 14 ― The Sessions Court today sentenced activist Haris
Ibrahim to eight months’ jail after finding him guilty of sedition over a
speech he made three years ago where he urged for a change of power in
Putrajaya.
Before sentencing, Sessions Court judge Shamsudin Abdullah said he had
considered the need for the punishment to serve as a lesson to both
Haris and the public.
“The court takes into account public interest so that security will not
be threatened and will not cause public distress. The accused is
sentenced to eight months’ jail starting from this day,” he said.
But the judge also allowed a stay of the execution of the sentence
pending an appeal by Haris’ lawyers to the High Court, and fixed bail at
RM10,000, an increase of RM5,000 from the current sum.
Haris was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act, which is
punishable with a maximum fine of RM5,000 and a maximum three-year jail
term.
In his decision earlier, Shamsudin said he found that Haris's defence
in relation to his remarks made on May 13, 2013 amounted to a “mere
denial”.
“The court is also satisfied that the statement as a whole clearly
shows the accused's dissatisfaction and anger with the ruling
government,” the judge said, adding that the accused had failed to raise
reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
“The court finds the accused guilty and convicts him,” he said.
Haris's lawyer Gobind Singh urged the judge to only impose a fine on
his client, noting that this was his first sedition offence and that he
did not have any prior convictions for any other crime.
Gobind also said that the 57-year-old was being treated for his heart
problems, diabetes and arthritis, besides having a son in university and
a teenage daughter in secondary school.
But deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad said the fact that
Haris was a first-time offender does not prevent the court from imposing
a jail term.
He argued that the evidence showed Haris as having incited the public
to change the government through unlawful means, claiming that the
remarks “threaten the public's peace, harmony and unity”.
The government lawyer also said that if such a situation was allowed to
go on, the public would no longer respect the government of the day and
would call it a “cruel government”.
“As an experienced lawyer who is involved in NGO activities, with his
knowledge and experience, the accused should use methods that are
legally correct to solve issues about election,” he said.
Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan also represented Haris today, while Norinna Bahadun also appeared for the government.
Haris and four others ― activists Hishammuddin Rais and Muhammad Safwan
Anang, politician Chua Tian Chang and Tamrin Ghafar ― were all charged
in the Sessions Court on May 29, 2013 under the same section. Student
activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim was charged under the same law a day
earlier.
On January 9 last year, the KL Sessions Court found Hishamuddin guilty
of sedition for his 2013 speech and fined him RM5,000 in default of six
months’ jail, but this January saw the High Court increasing it to a
nine-month jail term.
On September 5, 2013, Safwan was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment
after the court found him guilty of making a speech with seditious
tendency at the same forum, but this was reduced to a RM5,000 fine last
December.
Adam Adli was convicted on September 19, 2014 and sentenced to a
one-year in jail term, but this February saw it reduced to a RM5,000
fine by the High Court.
- See more at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/activist-jailed-eight-months-over-seditious-call-to-change-government#sthash.iWntxKUs.dpuf
Haris Ibrahim’s sedition jail term ‘the latest travesty’, says Amnesty
The conviction of prominent lawyer and human rights
activist Haris Ibrahim of sedition highlights Malaysia’s increasing
determination to crush any form of dissent in the country, Amnesty International said yesterday.
“(Yesterday’s) conviction of human rights activist Haris Ibrahim is
the latest travesty in a series of politically motivated actions to
silence dissent in Malaysia. The Malaysian government must halt its
prosecution of human rights defenders who have called for peaceful
protests and electoral reforms. If imprisoned, Amnesty International
would consider Ibrahim a Prisoner of Conscience,” said Josef Benedict,
Amnesty International’s Director of Campaigns for South-East Asia.
“This case demonstrates the importance of repealing Malaysia’s
Sedition Act, a repressive law that has been used with impunity against
government critics. Such laws have no place in a modern,
rights-respecting society. The Malaysian government should repeal the
Sedition Act, quash all convictions under it, and ensure stringent
protections are in place for citizens to peacefully exercise their right
to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”
Background
Malaysian human rights activist Haris Ibrahim was convicted and
sentenced to eight months imprisonment yesterday for speaking at a forum
that was critical of the Malaysian government’s victory in the last
general elections held in 2013.
Haris Ibrahim was one of the many individuals charged under the
Sedition Act 1948 in May 2013 immediately after the last general
elections, triggering an intensified wave of politically motivated
prosecutions and the trend in imprisoning government critics.
In 2015 alone, at least 91 individuals were arrested, charged or
investigated for sedition – almost five times as many as during the
law’s first 50 years of existence.
In 2012, Prime Minister Najib Razak vowed to repeal the law, but the
government has not only reneged on that promise but actually
strengthened and widened the scope and application of the Sedition Act.
An amendment to the Act rushed through Parliament in April 2015 after
less than a day’s debate added criticism of religion to the list of
sedition offences, and reduced the discretion of judges in sentencing,
requiring them to impose prison sentences of between three and seven
years. It also brought electronic media and sharing on social media
under the Act. - ALIRAN Website
Haris Ibrahim sentenced to eight months jail for sedition
Posted on 14 April 2016 - 11:50am
Last updated on 14 April 2016 - 06:34pm
Last updated on 14 April 2016 - 06:34pm
Haris
Ibrahim was charged under Section 4 of the Sedition Act in 2013 which
carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 and a maximum three-year jail term
upon conviction. — Sun file pix
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition activist Haris
Ibrahim was sentenced to eight months in jail by the Sessions Court
today for uttering seditious remarks at a public forum in 2013.
In his judgement, Sessions Judge Shamsudin Abdullah said Haris had
crossed the "legal boundaries" when he made seditious remarks in a
public forum at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
along Jalan Maharaja Lela on May 13, 2013 after the 13th General
Election.
Haris was found guilty under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act,
which carries a jail term of up to three years, or a fine not exceeding
RM5,000.
Shamsudin however granted the defence's application for a stay of
execution pending appeal, but increased the quantum of bail from RM5,000
to RM10,000 with one surety.
During mitigation, Haris' counsel Gobind Singh Deo asked for a
lighter sentence, adding that this was his client's first offence.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad called for a
harsher sentence, adding that the offence committed was a matter of
public interest.
Haris who paid the bail, told the media outside the courtroom that he would appeal against both the decision and sentencing. - The Sun Daily, 14/4/2016
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1 comment:
Mr. Charles Hector,
Haris Ibrahim, a senior legal practitioner (very much in active practice) & human rights activist who is actually defending/protecting one's right to life, liberty & security of person etc. pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Federal Constitution and who has written about the Altantuya & Scorpene corruption scandal on his blog is a victim of sedition. Victimized by those who supported/instructed the abduction & gruesome killing of Altantuya and other unmentionable crimes?
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