Ban on Faisal Tehrani's books lifted by Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal today reversed the decision of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur and lifted the ban on Faisal Tehrani's four books - and also found the Home Ministry to have violated the author's right to freedom of expression.

In lifting the ban on the books, a three-member bench led by Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said all three of them had read the four books and did not find them a danger to the public and national security - the reasons cited for the ban.

The other judges were Justice Ahmadi Asnawi and Justice Zaleha Yusof.

Faisal, whose real name is Mohd Faizal Musa, had challenged the ban on the books "Sebongkah Batu di Kuala Berang" published by PTS Litera Utama Sdn Bhd; "Karbala" published by Abeerden Books World; and "Tiga Kali Seminggu" and "Ingin Jadi Nasrallah" published by Al-Ameen Serve Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The ban was gazetted by the ministry three years ago and on Aug 8, 2016, the High Court dismissed the challenge on the book ban.

Justice Zaleha, who wrote today's judgment, said they had read all the four books and could not understand how the books could create public disorder or be a threat to national security.

She questioned where were the parts that the ministry declared would create public disorder or threaten national security.

Court concerned with what is legally valid

“Just by saying that the respondent was following the decision of Jawatankuasa Fatwa, in our view, is not sufficient to prove that the books are likely to be prejudicial to public order and security as the fatwa is not mentioned in the books.

“In conclusion, we would like to again emphasise that we are only concerned with what is legally valid according to the legal norm and principles.

“Based on the circumstances and facts of this case, we, therefore, find that the order is not made in accordance with Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and is therefore illegal,” Justice Zaleha said.

“We also find that the (ministry) order is indeed a restriction on the appellant's constitutional and fundamental right to freedom of expression.”

She added that although freedom of expression is not absolute, the judges agreed with the lawyer for Faisal that the court must nonetheless give primacy to it.

The Court of Appeal bench also awarded RM20,000 as costs to be paid to Faisal.

The author was represented by lawyer Abdullah Abdul Rahman, while senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan appeared for the Home Ministry.

However, the bench did not deal with the issue of damages sought by Faisal in his application as this was not addressed to the court.- Mkini