Activist Haris jailed 8 months for sedition, allowed stay

KUALA LUMPUR: Activist Haris Ibrahim has been jailed eight months for sedition. However, he has been allowed a stay of execution pending appeal. His bail was increased to RM10,000 with one surety.

A charge under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act is punishable with a maximum fine of RM5,000 and up to three years in jail.

Sessions Court judge Shamsudin Abdullah found him guilty on a charge of uttering a seditious statement during a forum here, three years ago. “The prosecution has proven the case beyond reasonable doubt,” he said. “The accused has the tendency to utter words that called for the people to topple the government.”

“The Court is satisfied that the statement as a whole clearly showed the accused’s dissatisfaction and anger with the government.”

The Judge added that Haris crossed the “legal boundaries” when he allegedly uttered seditious words at a public forum at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall along Jalan Maharaja Lela on 13 May 2013. “The accused failed to raise reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.”

The prosecutor was headed by Muhammad Ilmani Ahmad, while Haris was represented by Gobind Singh Deo.

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