Govt, police appeal to prevent Amri's wife accessing classified report

 

The government and the police have gone to the Court of Appeal to prevent Amri Che Mat’s wife from having limited access to the classified special task force report into the activist’s enforced disappearance in 2016.

Counsel Larissa Ann-Louis this morning confirmed that the two respondents have filed the notice of appeal against the decision of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on May 9 to allow Norhayati Mohd Ariffin (above, left) limited access to the report classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972.

The lawyer for Amri’s wife added that the High Court last week had also allowed an application by the government and the police to stay the May 9 ruling, pending disposal of the appeal.

In effect, this means that the respondents need not allow Norhayati to have limited access to the report, pending the appeal at the Court of Appeal.

On May 9, High Court judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh allowed Norhayati’s application for limited access to the report, in order to strengthen her separate main legal action against the police and government over Amri’s enforced disappearance sometime around midnight on Nov 24, 2016.

On June 26, 2019, two months after the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) concluded that Amri was a victim of enforced disappearance by the police, the Home Ministry formed a special task force to re-investigate the matter.

However, there was a lack of updates on the report, leading to the civil society group Citizens Against Enforced Disappearance (Caged) in 2021 to urge the government to release the task force's findings.

The task force was formed during the Pakatan Harapan administration headed by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2019.

Caged’s media statement that urged the release of the findings was issued on April 2, 2021, during Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional administration.

Following the 15th general election in November last year, the government is now led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who took over from Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Suhakam inquiry

On April 3, 2019, Suhakam’s public inquiry concluded that Amri and pastor Raymond Koh, who vanished in 2016 and 2017, respectively, were victims of enforced disappearance.

The three-member panel unanimously concluded that the perpetrators were members of the Special Branch from police headquarters Bukit Aman in Kuala Lumpur.

In relation to Norhayati’s main civil action against the police and the government over Amri’s disappearance, it is set to go on trial from June 19 to 22.

Senior federal counsel Zetty Zurina Kamaruddin appeared for the government and police in the legal action by Amri’s family.

Meanwhile, Koh’s family also has an ongoing civil court action against the police and government over the pastor’s enforced disappearance. - Mkini