Justice Radzi Harun said her appeal is competent and she must be given the right to be heard.

“The mere absence of the appellant in the magistrates’ court cannot be a reason to strike out the appeal,” he said.

Radzi said he had taken note of Rewcastle Brown’s position that she does not subject herself to the jurisdiction of the Malaysian court, but that did not override her right to challenge the magistrate’s decision.

Radzi however directed her to appear physically before him during the appeal hearing.

“The appellant’s choice whether to be present despite this instruction would be taken into account in the final determination of her appeal,” he said.

Rewcastle Brown followed today’s proceedings online from London.

Radzi fixed case management on Nov 3 for the parties to update him on the appeal records.

Lawyer Guok Ngek Seong appeared for Rewcastle Brown while deputy public prosecutor Khairuddin Idris acted for the prosecution.

The petition of appeal was signed by Guok. He contended that magistrate Nik Tarmizie Nik Shukri had breached several provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

He also said a “miscarriage of justice” had occurred in the case.

Guok said the magistrate’s invocation of Section 425A of the CPC was a total violation of the basic and cardinal rule of criminal justice.

He said Section 425A required an accused to be brought before the court and charged first and only applied if the accused subsequently absconded.

Guok also said the authorities had not made any effort to secure Rewcastle Brown’s extradition from the UK, where she currently resides, to face the charge.

The British national was charged in absentia in court in September 2021.

Rewcastle Brown was also convicted in her absence of defaming the sultanah via a statement contained in her book entitled The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose.

The act was said to have been committed in Kuala Terengganu on Sept 14, 2018.