KUALA LUMPUR: The Klang Sessions Court has acquitted blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris for the second time on a charge of making seditious remarks by linking the government to Israel and the West.
His lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali said Sessions Court judge Siti Aminah Ghazali made the order of acquittal on Wan Muhammad Azri at the end of the defence case.
"The judge ruled that the defence had successfully raised doubt in the prosecution’s case while the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said when contacted by the press on Monday (Oct 19).
Muhammad Rafique said Wan Muhammad Azri, 43, who is also known as Papagomo, had always maintained his innocence and the court's decision had vindicated his client.
Meanwhile, it is understood that the prosecution would appeal the acquittal.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam appeared for the prosecution in the case.
On Jan 8, 2024, Wan Muhammad Azri was accused of making the remarks on Facebook under the name Halid Hamidi (Halid Mat Kool) at 1pm on Nov 8, 2023.
The statement was later viewed by a 42-year-old man at a condominium unit in Jalan Tong Shin, Bukit Bintang.
The charge was framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act, which carries a fine of up to RM5,000, a maximum three-year jail term, or both, upon conviction.
This is the second time Wan Muhammad Azri was acquitted by the same judge in the same case.
On Sept 3 last year, judge Siti Aminah acquitted Wan Muhammad Azri at the end of the prosecution’s case, ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case to warrant him being called to enter his defence.
The prosecution then appealed the decision.
On July 31, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Nurulhuda Nur’ Aini Mohamad Nor allowed the prosecution’s appeal and set aside the earlier acquittal.
In her ruling, Justice Nurulhuda held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act.
She ordered Wan Muhammad Azri to enter his defence before Siti Aminah, who by then was transferred to the Klang Sessions Court from Kuala Lumpur.
