SHAH ALAM, Oct 19 — Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, better known as Papagomo, was acquitted and discharged by the Klang Sessions Court today of a sedition charge over remarks allegedly made on Facebook three years ago.
His lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, said Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali delivered the decision at the conclusion of the defence case.
“The court noted that the defence had successfully raised a reasonable doubt, while the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he told Bernama when contacted today.
He said only Wan Muhammad Azri, 43, testified for the defence, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam prosecuted the case.
On July 31 this year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered Wan Muhammad Azri to enter his defence after allowing the prosecution’s appeal against an earlier Sessions Court decision acquitting him.
On September 3 last year, Siti Aminah acquitted and discharged the blogger, ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him. However, the High Court subsequently overturned that decision and ordered him to enter his defence.
On January 8, 2024, Wan Muhammad Azri pleaded not guilty to a charge of making seditious remarks on Facebook by allegedly claiming that the government was pro-Israel and pro-Western.
He was accused of making the remarks on the Facebook page of Halid Hamidi, also known as Halid Mat Kool, which an individual at a condominium unit in Jalan Tong Shin, Bukit Bintang, here, viewed at 1 pm on Nov 8, 2023.
The charge was framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, which provides for a maximum jail term of three years, a fine of RM5,000, or both, upon conviction. — Bernama