Bersih rally: Two MPs and 15 others acquitted
The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court has freed 17 people from an illegal assembly charge for participating in the Nov 10, 2007, rally organised by the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih).
The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court has freed 17 people from an illegal assembly charge for participating in the Nov 10, 2007, rally organised by the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih).
Sessions judge Jagjit Singh Bant Singh said the prosecution had failed to prove a
prima facie
case that the 17 accused were participating in an
illegal assembly
at various locations in Kuala Lumpur.
Jagjit delivered his decision after hearing 36 witnesses from the prosecution during the trial that has taken three years.
Among the 17 were Batu MP Tian Chua, Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan and PAS central committee member Mohamad Sabu.
Jubilance among supporters in court
They were all arrested a month after the rally, which drew some 30,000 people into the streets of Kuala Lumpur to deliver a memorandum to the king at the Istana Negara, demanding fair and free elections.
As soon as Jagjit made the announcement, shouts of "God is great" reverberated from the dock and the public gallery.
Gobalakrishnan was so overwhelmed with joy that he kissed defence lawyer Jason Tay on the cheek.
Others in the dock were Mohd Salim Yeslam, 25, Ahmad Razali Abd Rahman, 53, Razali Abdul, 37, Mohd Asri Ahmad, 37, Muhd Harith Fatillah Shahabudin, 27, Saleh Mohamad Tahir, 50, Azahar Yusop, 46, Sulaiman Ahmad, 60, Taib Abdullah, 36, Mohd Abi Salam Ariffin, 28, Ishak Othman, 36, and Mohd Zad Abdullah, 42.
The two others were juveniles from Kedah.
All of them were charged with unlawful assembly at several places, including the national mosque compound, Jalan Istana, Jalan Raja Laut and the vicinity of the Sogo departmental store on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, between 1pm and 4pm on Nov 10, 2007.
No evidence of 'illegal' assembly
In acquitting Chua and Mohamad, who were accused of gathering near the Istana Negara, Jagjit said they were given permission by the police to hand over the memorandum to the palace.
"There is no question of illegal assembly. In fact, evidence showed they had dispersed peacefully after that," he said.
On Gobalakrishnan, who was arrested with several others on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the judge said the court found the evidence of the arresting officers unsatisfactory and he doubted their credibility.
“There is no evidence to show if they were in the assembly, or whether they had just arrived there or if they were just bystanders,” said the judge.
On the arrests at the national mosque, Jagjit ruled those accused had every right to be there as it is a place of worship for Muslims.
“They have the right to worship as this is protected under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution. They cannot be stopped from being at a place of worship, just because they wore yellow Bersih T-shirts,” he said.
All the accused were represented by counsel Mohamad Hanipa Maidin, Tay and Nasir Khan. DPP Ishak Mohd Yusoff and Mohd Farizul Hassan Bakri appeared for the prosecution.
THE 2007 BERSIH RALLY
LIVE reports: The Bersih rally
40,000 protest for free and fair elections
