Ambiga's rebuke: Leaders court global respect, but lawyers seeking truth probed at home

When former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan read Malaysiakini’s report that police had questioned lawyers for more than three hours over the custodial death of Noorizwan Zulkefly, her reaction was immediate and unfiltered.

“I am so angry,” she texted.

But Ambiga...

When former Malaysian Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan read Malaysiakini’s report that police had questioned lawyers for more than three hours over the custodial death of Noorizwan Zulkefly, her reaction was immediate and unfiltered.

“I am so angry,” she texted.

But Ambiga’s indignation went beyond the questioning of the lawyers. She argued that something far more fundamental was at stake, as it involved the rule of law itself and the quest for justice.

In a subsequent statement to Malaysiakini, she reminded the government that “every civilised society is built upon the pursuit of truth”.

She did not mince words about Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, describing the latest developments as a “new low”.

Malaysia, she pointed out, has sat on the United Nations Human Rights Council several times, but the lawyers’ treatment and the persistent issue of deaths in custody stand in stark contradiction to the universal principles the council is meant to uphold.

“In other words, we know better, but we do not do better. We never do. Our leaders seek credibility in the eyes of the world but do not bother about their credibility at home. It is time they did,” she added.

Suspicious behaviour

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) revealed on Tuesday that its founders, Latheefa Koya and N Surendran, along with Dina Zamri, who represents Noorizwan’s family, were being investigated for allegedly pressuring Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz to release post-mortem photographs documenting 21 horrific injuries on the deceased’s body.

For Ambiga, the implications are deeply troubling.

She stressed that a lawyer’s right to defend a client robustly and pursue the truth in the discharge of professional duties is sacrosanct and indispensable to the rule of law.

“The system of justice cannot work if these values are not respected. In fact, these actions by the authorities serve to raise more suspicion about this death in custody.

“I will not repeat the troubling features about this case that cannot be hushed up and should not be hushed up,” she added.

Ambiga said when the target of an investigation is the lawyers acting for the deceased’s family who are seeking the truth, rather than the death in custody itself, something is wrong.

“Which means this case must receive greater scrutiny,” she added.

Calling on Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to account for what she described as unprecedented actions and ensure an immediate investigation into the brutal circumstances of Noorizwan’s death, Ambiga warned that targeting the lawyers would only deepen public suspicion.

She said such actions would “serve to confirm the impression that something rotten is happening in our places of detention which is being hurriedly swept under the carpet, yet again.”

‘Absurd’ investigation

In her Oct 22 statement, LFL director Rania Aljunied said that Latheefa, Surendran, and Dina were questioned over a visit by Noorizwan’s family and their lawyers to the hospital’s pathology unit to seek clarification on the medical evidence from the autopsy.

“Since when is this a criminal offence in Malaysia?” she asked.

Rania said the investigation bordered on the absurd, noting that two senior Bukit Aman officers had also been present when the family and lawyers sought a briefing on the extent of Noorizwan’s injuries and requested to view the post-mortem photographs.

The pathologist, she said, had agreed to their request.

“The investigation is unlawful, high-handed, and interferes with the duties of lawyers acting for their clients,” Rania said.

She argued that had the family and their lawyers not pressed for the photographs to be disclosed, the public might never have learnt the full extent of the injuries Noorizwan sustained.

A day after LFL released the photographs, Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus said investigators were awaiting the Chemistry Department's full report and the official pathology results before completing their probe.