Sirul has not applied for review on death sentence, says Home Minister

PUTRAJAYA: Former policeman Sirul Azhar Umar, who was sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, has not applied for a review of his death sentence, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The Home Minister said that only convicted killer Azilah Hadri had applied for a review of his death sentence.

“I can confirm that only Azilah applied. Sirul was just released (from the detention centre in Australia) a week ago.

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“We haven’t received any response on whether his lawyer has filed an application to review his sentence,” Saifuddin told reporters when met at the sidelines of the PKR national congress in Putrajaya on Sunday (Nov 26).

Saifuddin said that Azilah is currently being held at the Sungai Buloh prison and the convict was among the first 900 detainees to apply for a review of their death sentences.

“In the case of Sirul, if he wants to file an application to review his sentence, it has to be done by his lawyers,” added Saifuddin.

Saifuddin also said former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s request to the government to extradite Sirul requires an application for a review of his death sentence.

“That is the process and until that happens, the government is of the opinion that Najib’s proposal is a proposal that the government will keep tabs on.

“Because the decision lies entirely on Sirul.

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Recently, Najib had urged the Malaysian Governemnt to engage with its Australian counterparts to initiate the extradition of Sirul.

Saifuddin also said that only Sirul can provide further elaborations to his claims that he received RM1mil from unnamed sources for his silence on the murder during his detention in Australia.

“The matter was not raised during his trial and it was just a claim from Sirul, which only he can answer to it.

Altantuya was abducted and murdered in Shah Alam in October 2006, and her remains were blown up with military-grade explosives.

Sirul and Azilah Hadri, two of Najib Razak's former bodyguards, were convicted of the murder in 2009.

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The Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in 2013 and ordered their release.

During the prosecution's appeal, Sirul fled to Australia. The Federal Court upheld the conviction and reinstated the death penalty.

Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who was charged together with Sirul and Azilah, was freed on Oct 31, 2008, after the court found no concrete evidence against him.

Sirul was arrested and detained by Australian immigration authorities in January 2015 but was not deported owing to the country's policy of not deporting people facing the death penalty.

On Nov 8, the Australian High Court ruled that indefinite immigration detention was unlawful, although the government could impose appropriate visa conditions to protect the local community.

On Dec 16 last year, High Court Judge Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera (now Court of Appeal judge) allowed the suit by Altantuya's family and ordered former policemen Azilah, Sirul, Abdul Razak, and the Malaysian government to jointly pay RM5mil in general, aggravated and exemplary damages to the family.