KL opposition party official jailed for illegal assembly
KL opposition party official jailed for illegal assembly
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A leading member of Malaysia's main opposition party was jailed for a month on Thursday after refusing to pay a fine for illegal assembly.
"I refuse to make any payment to the oppressive regime of Dr Mahathir," Mahfuz Omar was quoted by his lawyer as saying in reference to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Lawyer Zulkifli Noordin, who represented Mahfuz and three other members of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), told AFP they had denied illegal assembly in respect of an anti-Israeli demonstration in April 1997.
The protest was against a planned visit by an Israeli cricket team to Malaysia, where just over half the population are Muslims.
Zulkifli said all four were convicted and fined 1,500 ringgit ($395), with one month's jail in default. They refused to pay the fine or to appeal.
Zulkifli quoted Mahfuz, who is a member of parliament and PAS youth wing chief, as saying he refused to appeal, "having no confidence in the judiciary."
The lawyer said Mahfuz had been praying at the mosque when the peaceful protest began and he did not organize the gathering. Police have wide powers to declare any gathering illegal.
It was not clear why the case took three years to be settled. Mahfuz, a fiery orator, took part in a major protest Sunday in support of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. Police broke up the demonstration with tear gas, batons and water cannon and arrested 125 people.
Some 26 of those arrested alleged they were beaten up by police.
It was a "parade of swollen limbs, brown shirts tainted with dried blood, cracked bones, swollen faces, lacerations, truncheon marks and heavily bandaged heads," said defense lawyer N. Surendran.
On Wednesday Mahfuz told parliament that many protesters were injured and one almost blinded when tear gas was fired at point- blank range.
He handed over a photograph and videotape to the deputy speaker.
Wednesday's debate ended on a heated note. Government MP Shahziman Abu Mansor challenged Mahfuz to a fist-fight outside parliament, according to newspaper reports Thursday, but colleagues cooled the situation down.