Lawyers for jailed Perak protesters file bid for stay

Lawyers for the 13 jailed Perak protesters have filed a written application for a stay of their two-years’ jail sentence at the Taiping High Court and the application will be heard on Thursday.

This is after the Kuala Kangsar Sessions Court had on Friday rejected the lawyers’ application for a stay and ordered the 13 who had protested against the appointment of BN’s Zambry Abdul Kadir as the Perak menteri besar in 2009 to serve their jail sentence.

Lawyer Aminuddin Zulkepfli told Malaysiakini that the application was submitted in court late this afternoon.

“The Sessions judge had rejected our oral application for a stay. Hence, today we made a formal application at the Taiping High Court.

“The Taiping High Court will hear the application on Thursday,” he said.

On Friday, it was reported that the 13 who protested against Zambry were ordered to go to jail, after they were found guilty by Sessions judge Norsalha Hamzah, who refused to grant the stay.

The two- year jail term is the maximum penalty accorded for illegal assembly under Section 145 of the Penal Code.

Those jailed are Bad Latif Mansor, 47, Suhana Abdullah, 49, Meor Safizal Meor Mohamed Amin, 38; Mohd Faiz Mohd Arshad, 26; Zulhaizam Zulkifli, 29 and Isha Riduan Ishak, 59, Adi Hilmee Mohd Nasir, 44; Yusoff Jaafar, 48; Idris Mohd Thaib, 48; Mohamad Nazeer Hameed, 48; Khairul Azmi Hassan Basri, 48; Mohd Hasri Ismail, 48; and Mohamed Ismail SM Abdul Kadir, 47.

Aminuddin said of the 13 one has thyroid cancer, another has a heart ailment and one is a single mother.

He said the grounds for the stay application is that the sentence was excessive and that the clients have the right to have their appeal to be heard before serving the jail sentence, as the superior court may overturn the decision.