Justice Azman Abdullah ruled that the conviction by the Sessions Court in August 2016, after finding that the words uttered by Fakhrulrazi in criticising Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy 2 judgment had the tendency to incite hatred towards the government and judiciary, was correct.

In his brief written judgment, Azman said he agreed with the findings of the lower court. He also said the charge against the opposition youth leader was not defective.

“There is no miscarriage of justice,” Azman said.

The court dismissed deputy public prosecutor Zaki Asyraf Zubir’s appeal to increase Fakhrulrazi’s eight-month jail sentence.

However, the court allowed a stay of execution of Fakhrulrazi’s jail sentence pending his final appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Speaking to reporters after the decision, Fakhrulrazi’s lawyer Ariff Azami Hussein said they would argue in their final appeal that his speech was not seditious.

Fakhrulrazi was sentenced by the Sessions Court under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act for making a seditious speech during the #KitaLawan rally in 2015.

Fellow Pakatan Harapan opposition leaders expressed dismay over the court’s decision two years ago and described the Sedition Act as a draconian law that should have been done away with a long time ago.

Besides Fakhrulrazi, eight other activists, including Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah and manager Mandeep Singh, have been charged over the #KitaLawan rally.

Bersih: Amanah Youth Vice-Chief ‘convicted’ under flawed Act