Maria’s habeas corpus bid to be heard on Tuesday

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has set next Tuesday to hear a habeas corpus application by Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah who is challenging her detention under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012.

Judicial Commissioner Nordin Hassan fixed the date in chambers in the presence of all parties yesterday.

Counsel Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar, Datuk S. Ambiga, Eric Paulsen and Melissa Sasidaran appeared for Maria while Senior Federal Counsel Mohammad Al-Saifi Hashim acted for the respondents – Supt Tham Lai Kuan, Inspector-General of Police, Home Minister and the Government.

Approached by reporters, Prof Gurdial said the respondents had asked for seven days to reply to Maria’s son Azumin Mohamad Yunus who filed a supporting affidavit on behalf of his mother but Judicial Commissioner Nordin Hassan disallowed their (respondents) application.

“JC Nordin then asked the respondents to reply to our affidavit-in-support by Monday (Nov 28) and set Tuesday (Nov 29) for the habeas corpus hearing.

“We also applied for Maria to be allowed to attend the hearing but JC Nordin told us that normally the applicant of habeas corpus will not be brought to court.

“However, we will leave it to the court’s discretion to decide,” he said after a case management of their application yesterday.

Meanwhile, Ambiga said they would be asking for Maria to be given pillows and a mattress while in the lockup.

On Tuesday, Maria filed the application for the writ of habeas corpus for her release.

She was detained on Nov 18, in a pre-Bersih 5 rally swoop by police on several opposition leaders and activists and was later taken to the Dang Wangi police headquarters for the family’s visit.

Azumin, 23, said Maria was detained at her office on Nov 18, at 3.10pm by Supt Tham and at about 1pm on Nov 20, he was allowed to meet the applicant with her counsel at Dang Wangi police district headquarters.

He said a police team headed by investigating officer Asst Supt Wan Aeidil Wan Abdullah went to the applicant’s office in A-2-8, Blok A, 8 Avenue Commercial Centre in Jalan Sungai Jernih 8/1, Petaling Jaya, on Nov 18, at about 3pm.

Azumin said the investigating officer informed the applicant and an activist, Mandeep Singh, that both were not allowed out of the office and that they needed to surrender their handphones, adding that the police seized documents, computer equipment and communication gadgets.