PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown in London will be heard between April 30 and May 2, coinciding with the 14th general election campaign.
Based on a statement by Sarawak Report on April 3, it would appear that a key part of Rewcastle-Brown's defence would involve a 20-minute audio recording purportedly involving a PAS leader.
The website claims to have received a complete copy of the recording which it says has been "expertly transcribed" and "forensically tested".
Hadi filed the defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown in April last year over an article which suggested that PAS received RM90 million from caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
According to Hadi's statement of claim, Rewcastle-Brown did not attempt to verify the allegations against PAS in the said article.
He also said the London-based Rewcastle-Brown did not check with him or anyone else in PAS regarding the matter before publication.
"Nor did she afford him (Hadi) or PAS any opportunity to comment," read the statement of claim filed on April 21, 2017, and sighted by Malaysiakini.
In a related development, Sarawak Report has launched a crowdfunding initiative through the CrowdJustice website to raise 45,000 British pounds by May 6 to pay for legal costs. - Mkini
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