CONTROVERSIAL Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, better known as Papagomo, has been acquitted and discharged for the second time on a sedition charge over a Facebook post allegedly linking the government to Israel and the West.
Klang Sessions Court judge Siti Aminah Ghazali ruled today that the defence had succeeded in raising reasonable doubt at the conclusion of the defence case.
“The prosecution failed to prove its case, while the defence succeeded in raising doubt beyond reasonable doubt,” she said.
Wan Muhammad Azri, 43, was charged on Jan 8, 2024, with uttering seditious words in a Facebook post published under the name Halid Hamidi, also known as Halid Mat Kool, at 1pm on Nov 8, 2023.
The post was viewed by a 43-year-old man at a condominium in Jalan Tong Shin, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
The charge was framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act by a fine of up to RM5,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both upon conviction.
The prosecution called nine witnesses, while Wan Muhammad Azri was the sole witness for the defence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalan prosecuted the case, while lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali represented the accused.
The Sessions Court first acquitted and discharged Wan Muhammad Azri on Sept 3, 2025. The prosecution appealed against that decision, and High Court judge Nurulhuda Nur’aini Mohamad Nor subsequently ordered him to enter his defence. - October 19, 2026