Rafizi, five others fail to set aside illegal rally charge

Rafizi, five others fail to set aside illegal rally charge

Judge says charge made against them over Black 505 rally is not against the Constitution and there are reasonable grounds to charge them.

rafizi-adam-adli

KUALA LUMPUR:
Pandan MP Mohd Rafizi Ramli and five others failed in their bid to set aside a charge under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA) in connection with the Blackout 505 rally when the High Court here today dismissed their application.

Judge Amelia Tee Hong Geok Abdullah, when handing down the decision, said the charge made against them was not against the Constitution and the prosecution had reasonable grounds to charge them.

Tee set June 21 for mention of the case at the Sessions Court.

Rafizi, 39, who is also PKR vice-president, and Muhammad Adib Ishar, 27, a PKR secretariat member, were charged with organising the rally without meeting a condition set by Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad that they must obtain the permission of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall for use of the Padang Merbok venue.

They were charged with committing the offence at Padang Merbok, Jalan Parlimen here between 2pm and 6pm on June 22, 2013.

The charge, under Section 15(3) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, carries a fine of up to RM10,000, if found guilty.

Four others, Opposition activists Adam Adli Abd Halim, 28, Muhammad Safuan Anang@Talib, 27, Ekhsan Bukharee Badarul Hisham, 25, and Mohamed Bukhari Mohamed Sufian, 26, were charged with participating in the rally in the compound of Masjid Ar-Rahman Universiti Malaya, which is a restricted area, between noon and 1.15pm on the same day.

The four of them were charged under Section 4(2)(b) of the same law and faced a fine of up to RM20,000, if found guilty.

All six of them were represented by lawyer Melissa Sasidaran, while the respondent was represented by deputy public prosecutor Nurul Huda Mohd Nor.

– BERNAMA

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.