Court throws out Hamza’s habeas application

Justice Rohana Yusuf rules that Hamza Kashgari's deportation made the application academic.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today dismissed a habeas corpus application to hear the legality of Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari’s deportation to Saudi Arabia.

Justice Rohana Yusuf dismissed the application, saying the matter was academic as the 23-year-old Hamza had already been deported.

Hamza was detained by the Malaysian authorities on Feb 9 at the KLIA while the former was in transit heading to New Zealand.

Hamza was said to be fleeing from Saudi authorities after Muslim clerics in the kingdom were angered by his tweets which were deemed an insult to Prophet Muhammad.

Although he had deleted and apologised over the matter, the Saudi government insisted on charging Hamza for blasphemy under its strict Islamic laws.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) coordinator Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, who filed the writ of habeas corpus, said although Hamza was no longer in Malaysia, the matter involved the legality of his deportation while he was in the country.

“And all Justice Rohana said was since the body (Hamza) is no longer here, it’s an academic exercise,” said Fadiah.

The human rights lawyer also referred to Rohana’s judgment as the court’s way to abdicate itself from its constitutional duty.

“The court failed to uphold the rule of law and the constitutional safeguard by way of a habeas corpus,” she said.