Anwar’s lawyer seeks to strike out 2014 sedition charge over sodomy comment
The Padang Serai MP described the charge against him as “unprecedented”, adding that it will impact on lawyers’ duty to their clients.
“You see, this is the first case where the lawyer was charged for talking about his client's case after having just attended the client's hearing that day on the Federal Court,” Surendran told reporters after filing his papers at the Duta Court Complex here.
“It was unprecedented charging against me. It has serious effects on the duty of lawyers. This charge should have never been made so I filed this application to quash the charge.”
Another PKR lawyer Latheefa Koya, who is representing Surendran, said the sedition charge was against international benchmarks.
“The fact they have proceeded to charge him is in fact a clear interference with the duty of a lawyer. It is against the international standards, the independence of lawyers.
“We are basically asking for the charge against him to be struck off or at the very least the whole proceedings of the trial should be stopped immediately,” she said.
She said the courts have yet to schedule a hearing date for Surendran’s application but hoped it could be held before his trial starts on June 27.
Surendran was charged with sedition in the Sessions Court on August 28, 2014 for a YouTube comment in which he allegedly criticised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for purportedly mounting a political conspiracy against PKR de facto chief and then opposition leader Anwar
from Malay Mail Online | All http://ift.tt/1TSOPm8
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