KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): Jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has filed a petition with the United Nations (UN) working group, asking for his release or a retrial of the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
According to his counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, a petition was filed with the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) on Thursday (Jan 5) afternoon.
“He is asking the UNWGAD panel of five experts on international justice to rule that the dismissal of his appeal by the Federal Court on Aug 23, 2022 was unjust, flawed and violated his basic human rights and the Federal Constitution,” Shafee told a press conference on Thursday.
Najib is currently serving his 12 year-prison sentence after the apex court dismissed his final appeal in the SRC case in August.
A five-member panel headed by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat had affirmed his conviction and sentence by the High Court in the matter.
Muhammad Shafee said that Najib was not accorded a “reasonable opportunity” to argue his case and denied his lawyers adequate time to prepare.
“The court did not allow his defence team even to make submissions in the appeal against his sentence of 12 years imprisonment. In essence, Najib had been sent to jail without the opportunity to defend himself at the Federal Court,” he said.
It should be noted that the chief justice had given Najib’s then counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik several chances to make his submissions but the lawyer had stood his ground to not make any submission.
The petition along with supporting documents were filed to Geneva via digital transmission. A copy of the petition has also been sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ International Affairs Division.
Muhammad Shafee says UN working group decision not binding, but may have repercussions
The senior lawyer said that the UNWGAD, which will hear the petition, comprises of five “distinguished” human rights judges who will not be called on to decide on Najib’s guilt, but rather to determine whether the former prime minister’s trial was fair. Following this, they may call upon the government to release him or provide him with a retrial.
Explaining how the UNWGAD works, Muhammad Shafee said that the working group meets three times a year and will return from their year-end break on Jan 9.
When asked how long the process will take, he anticipated that it might take a few months.
“Very rarely, they invite counsel (to submit). Within a few months, they will hear it,” he said, adding that he was unsure as to how long they would take to decide on the matter.
Muhammad Shafee added that although the working group’s decision was not binding, Malaysia could face sanctions in various forms including “silent sanctions”.
Petition to UN working group separate from review
Muhammad Shafee said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also a strong advocate of the UNWGAD, based on comments he (Anwar) had made previously.
Muhammad Shafee also stressed that this petition was separate from Najib’s review process, which is set to take place on Jan 19 before a fresh quorum of judges. The senior lawyer added that the defence team is prepared for the review.
He said that they had asked for a panel of seven Federal Court judges but had learned that there were only six judges who were qualified to hear the review. Muhammad Shafee added that the defence team was agreeable with a panel of five judges for the review process.