August 12, 2012
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com
Lawyers for Liberty: Free the Blogger of Contempt
by K. Pragalath | August 11, 2012
Lawyers group, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said the decision to imprison the blogger reinforces the public perception that justice is only meant for the rich, powerful and well connected.
“In this case, the court has failed to temper justice with mercy and has acted in a harsh and disproportionate manner – a decision that unfortunately can only reinforce public perception that “justice” is only for the rich, powerful and well connected,” said LFL .
It also wants the High Court to reconsider the circumstances that led to blogger Amizuddin Mamat acting in contempt of court that resulted in the latter being imprisoned.
“The court in exercising its discretionary power to cite the blogger for contempt of court has failed to look into the wider circumstances and context the articles were published,” said the group in a press statement.
Yesterday High Court judge, Zabariah Mohd Yusof sentenced blogger Amizuddin Mamat to three months imprisonment after finding him guilty of contempt of court.
The judge had previously prohibited Amizuddin from publishing articles defaming Information Communication and Culture Minister, Rais Yatim on the alleged rape of an Indonesian domestic worker by Rais.
Amizuddin defied the prohibition by publishing 11 articles about Rais.In mitigation LFL also put forth its points in defence of Amizuddin.
“The blogger had continued to publish the articles in order to expose the grave injustice and crime that had allegedly been perpetrated, that remained not properly investigated despite being widely reported in the region.
“Further, the blogger has since deleted all the articles and apologised to the court,” said the NGO.Hence, it has called upon the courts to guard its dignity by its moral strength instead of powers of contempt.
“The judge had previously prohibited Amizuddin from publishing articles defaming Information Communication and Culture Minister, Rais Yatim on the alleged rape of an Indonesian domestic worker by Rais”
I don’t follow. How did the court come to be involved? If defammation is the issue the aggrieved party can always resort to the courts for redress. Randy Rais is a politician and it will not be easy for him to satisfy the burden of proof on the balance of probabilities. He will have to show malice on the part of the party said to have defamed him.
Contempt of court is a common law doctrine. U.S. law too is based on the English common law. But the media here can report on anything including pending judicial proceedings. For there to be restriction there must first be a “clear and present danger” to the administration of justice – a very high threshold to reach.
In Malaysia it is being abused to stifle freedom of expression.
Is Dato setting himself up for similar charges against him for publishing an article on the Ten Pin Bowling Ace accused of statutory rape who was freed by appeal court judges and then allowing his readers to launch “scurrilous attacks” on the judges and on the country’s justice system, interfering therefore in the administration of justice?
What happens to our freedom of expression?
In all of Malaysia, only Dato’s blog is sane, safe. Everywhere else is topsy turvy, upside down, inside out . What is wrong is perceived right , what is right is made wrong.
Its the end of days. Especially for Malaysia.
“Whom God want to destroy He first makes mad”
Dato’s supporters have deserted him. A few old faithfuls are left to defend him. The rest are clones.
How many more Amizuddins will there be before they get to the likes of Mariam Mokhtar and Dato Din Merican?
Read here: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/08/10/judge-alleged-rapist-dishonour-nation/
“What are the priorities of the appeal judges? Is their primary concern the winning of sporting events?” Mariam Mokhtar
In jurisdictions that strictly adhere to the old school on the issue of the common law doctrine of contempt of court, remarks like this are clearly in contempt because they could be seen as personal, scurrilous abuse of the court system – a personal attack on judges.
Over time people will lose their respect for the courts. That didn’t happen in the good USofA however. American society has gone on to become the most litigation oriented society.
So time to throw Mariam Mokhtar in jail and given a taste of His Majesty’s Government’s hospitality – daily dose of roti canai and curry and nothing else?
How about throwing me in jail? Do a search and seizure on Dato. He has my IP address. I’m just living next door to him. Come and get me.
These judges are cowards’ cowards and have long lost their cojones. Clearly their strict professional training has failed them. They are a disgrace to their profession. They put their self interest first before public interest. Is it not clearly in the public interest to mete out a deterrent sentence so others of like mind would not follow?
Omg bean,
You remind me of the early Christians who seek for martyrdom. It’s very frightening to the to Romans. Jihadists seek to blown themselves with the rest of us. Earliest Christians lagi better, they seek death in anyway including kenna thrown into the lion’s den. Can you imagine if 1 million marches to street & say catch me. Gandhi has perfected it to an art. Hail! Hail!
Well, looes74. They can put a handful in jail. They cannot put everybody in jail. Time to do a Ghandi.