The Federal Court has thrown out his review application to set aside a 2015 final ruling and order a retrial.
Azilah now has only one option left – to seek a royal pardon from the Sultan of Selangor. He has filed an application to have the death sentence commuted to a prison term.
The five-member bench, chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed, said today there was no miscarriage of justice, breach of natural justice or violation of any written law to allow the review.
“In our judgment, there are no exceptional circumstances in this case to allow for review under Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995,” Azahar said.
Azahar, who sat with Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Zaleha Yusof and Zabariah Mohd Yusof, said Azilah had kept to himself the “so-called new evidence” that was available to him.
“He deliberately suppressed the evidence during police investigations, from his lawyers and the court,” he added.
Last October, Azilah, who had been convicted of murdering Altantuya, along with his partner Sirul Azhar Umar, issued a statutory declaration (SD) as part of an application in the Federal Court for a review of his case.
In his SD, Azilah said, among others, that Altantuya’s former lover, Abdul Razak Baginda, and senior police officer Musa Safri were aware of the “instructions” from former prime minister Najib Razak .
Azilah, in his attached sworn statement, said it was Najib who had directed the “shoot to kill” order on Altantuya.
Razak was acquitted of abetment in the Altantuya’s murder case while Najib has strongly denied allegations of his involvement.
Azahar said the trial had come to finality following the Federal Court’s verdict to reinstate the conviction and sentence by the High Court. The Appeals Court had earlier overturned the High Court decision.
“There must be finality in the administration of justice and in litigation,” he said, adding that the Federal Court being the apex court could not reopen, re-examine and rehear a matter, except under Rule 137 which allows it to make an order to prevent an injustice.
Azahar said the legal principle for review was also well established and it could only be used sparingly under exceptional circumstances.
Azilah and Sirul were sentenced to death nine years after Altantuya was killed in a forest near Shah Alam and her body blown up with explosives in 2006.
Meanwhile, Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said he was considering asking the court to expunge Azilah’s SD which implicated Najib in the murder.
“The court did not believe the SD as Azilah had suppressed evidence,” he told reporters.
Earlier today, the bench also dismissed Najib’s attempt to be made part of Azilah’s review application on the grounds he was not an accused in the murder trial.