Sessions court judge MM Edwin Paramjothy said Iswardy had failed to raise a reasonable doubt to the prosecution’s case against him.

However, Paramjothy adjourned the case to Jan 23 for the prosecution and defence to submit on mitigation and sentencing.

On Oct 24, the judge ruled the prosecution had established a prima facie case after calling nine witnesses.

Iswardy appeared as the sole witness in his defence.

On June 1, 2021, he was charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act 1948 for statements made on Facebook deemed to be seditious and insulting towards the king.

The impugned comments were said to have been contained in a video posted online titled “Total lockdown: apa yang kerajaan gagal belajar dalam setahun” (Total lockdown: what the government failed to learn after one year).

The government at the time was led by Perikatan Nasional, with Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.

Iswardy, 47, was convicted of committing the offence at the office of the commercial crime investigation department in Wangsa Maju at about 3pm on May 29, 2021.

He faces a fine of up to RM5,000 and imprisonment for up to three years.

Paramjothy released Iswardy on bail but subjected him to a gag order which prohibits him from making public comments about the case.

Deputy public prosecutor Iznina Hanim Hashim appeared for the prosecution, while lawyer Faizal Rahman acted for Iswardy.