New Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin will discuss the dropped charges against 12 Malaysians accused of supporting defunct Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group with his ministry and police before deciding on the next course of action, if any.
Hamzah (above) stressed that any action would have to be based on the rule of law and the Federal Constitution.
“Terrorism is not just a problem in our country, but the whole world. It must be accompanied by all the information we have.
“If we need to take necessary action, I will take stern action and it will be according to the law and the Federal Constitution,” he was quoted saying by Berita Harian today.
The Umno minister was asked to comment on the dropping of a combined 34 charges levelled against 12 men, including two DAP assemblypersons, by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas last month, and if the ministry will reopen the cases.
All 12 accused, who were arrested and detained under the controversial Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) in a police sweep last October and denied bail, have since been acquitted and discharged.
In applying for the charges to be dropped, prosecutors had stated there was no prospect for the charges against all accused to be reinstated.
It should be noted that the principles of double jeopardy prevent an accuse from being charged for the alleged same offences. Under Section 302 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, such a person cannot also be tried again under a different charge relying on the same facts.
Thomas (above), in an 11-page statement, had said the evidence possessed against the 12, such as merely possessing the photos of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on their phones or Facebook accounts, could not constitute a criminal offence and difficult to prosecute.
He further called on the Home Ministry to review the list of gazetted terrorist organisations.
Even so, then home minister and current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, stated Malaysia would still list the LTTE as a terrorist group as the group “is believed to still espouse an ideology that can threaten public order and national security.”
- Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.