In a letter, the German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer) has asked the Malaysian PM to explain the numerous reports of Malaysian lawyers getting hauled up for allegedly committing sedition, citing concerns that their rights may have been violated. In the letter, the German Bar’s Dr Martin Abend said recent reports showed that the Malaysian authorities have increased their use of the Sedition Act 1948 over the last few months, even against lawyers who “had simply voiced their legal opinions”. “In one particular case,” Abend wrote, “even a lawyer’s house is said to have been searched and his mobile phone and his laptop seized.” On September 12 2014, local police confiscated a mobile phone and laptop belonging to Johor PKR vice-chairman Hassan Karim to aid a sedition probe after raiding his home in Pontian. Hassan, who is also a lawyer, is reportedly being investigated for sedition after Selangor Perkasa lodged a police report against him for allegedly insulting the state ruler on Twitter during the mentri besar imbroglio. In another case, law lecturer Assoc Prof Azmi Sharom was hauled up to face a sedition charge in court for expressing his professional legal opinion about the Selangor crisis. Abend said, however, that in accordance with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, legal professionals share the right to partake in public discussions on matters concerning the “law, the administration of justice, and the promotion and protection of human rights”. Lawyers must therefore be given the freedom to perform their duties without intimidation, hindrance or harassment from the authorities, the lawyer added. “The German Federal Bar is deeply concerned about these current developments in Malaysia. “We kindly ask you to inform us if the information available to us is correct and how you view the situation,” Abend urged the Malaysian PM in his letter.
In a letter, the German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer) has asked the Malaysian PM to explain the numerous reports of Malaysian lawyers getting hauled up for allegedly committing sedition, citing concerns that their rights may have been violated. In the letter, the German Bar’s Dr Martin Abend said recent reports showed that the Malaysian authorities have increased their use of the Sedition Act 1948 over the last few months, even against lawyers who “had simply voiced their legal opinions”. “In one particular case,” Abend wrote, “even a lawyer’s house is said to have been searched and his mobile phone and his laptop seized.” On September 12 2014, local police confiscated a mobile phone and laptop belonging to Johor PKR vice-chairman Hassan Karim to aid a sedition probe after raiding his home in Pontian. Hassan, who is also a lawyer, is reportedly being investigated for sedition after Selangor Perkasa lodged a police report against him for allegedly insulting the state ruler on Twitter during the mentri besar imbroglio. In another case, law lecturer Assoc Prof Azmi Sharom was hauled up to face a sedition charge in court for expressing his professional legal opinion about the Selangor crisis. Abend said, however, that in accordance with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, legal professionals share the right to partake in public discussions on matters concerning the “law, the administration of justice, and the promotion and protection of human rights”. Lawyers must therefore be given the freedom to perform their duties without intimidation, hindrance or harassment from the authorities, the lawyer added. “The German Federal Bar is deeply concerned about these current developments in Malaysia. “We kindly ask you to inform us if the information available to us is correct and how you view the situation,” Abend urged the Malaysian PM in his letter.
