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The case of Lena Hendry who was charged under Act 6 of the Censorship Law 2002 came to hearing yesterday in Kuala Lumpur High Court for the decision of the reference made by the Magistrate Court relating to several constitutional issues pertaining to section 6 of the Film Censorship Act 2002. Joshua Tay appeared for Lena Hendry while Tuan Nik Suhaimi bin Ibrahim appeared for the Respondent Public Prosecutor. The decision today was delivered in chambers where the Judge held that the Applicant...

By Mariam Mokhtar (First appeared in Free Malaysia Today on July 4th, 2014) Lena Hendry is like any other Malaysian. She likes reading, watching films, listening to music and travelling. She went to Convent Bukit Nanas and after graduating in Psychology from HELP University College in Damansara, worked for Komas, a Malaysian human rights non-govermental organisation (NGO). She says: “I am an average sort of person, who wishes to do something, to help Malaysia.” The state of affairs in Malaysia...

We attended court today for the mention of case before Magistrate Tuan Ashraf Rezal bin Abdul Manan. A new mention date was set on the 22nd of July 2014 as there are no updates from the Court of Appeal. Magistrate Tuan Ashraf also stressed that the case has been classified as a high profile case because it involves the relationship between two countries (Malaysia and Sri Lanka) and he requested the lawyers to try to speed up the proceedings so that the trial will start soon.

Remember, the Public Prosecutor can drop the charges.... and time is short..for if the trial starts, it would not last very long ... and best if the charges are dropped before the commencement of the trial Link to petition: https://www.change.org/petitions/drop-the-criminal-charges-against-lena-hendry-dato-sri-mohd-najib-bin-tun-haji-abdul-razak-prime-minister-of-malaysia-and-tan-sri-abdul-gani-patail-the-attorney-general-of-malaysia

On the 3rd of July 2013, human rights activist Lena Hendry was arrested for organising a screening of the film '"No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka"' which was not vetted or approved by the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia. If convicted she faces the sentence of a “… fine of not less than five thousand ringgit and not more than thirty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both…” All are welcome to attend this very special panel discussion...

KOMAS staff, Lena Hendry's case today in High Court was postponed to the 26th February 2014 because the Deputy Public Prosecutor requested for more time to look into the submission/arguments. Our lawyers Edmund Bon Tai Soon assisted by New Sin Yew and Joshua presented their arguments on why the case should be striked out. The arguments were based on the fact that 1) It is a violation of our constitutional right 2) The act itself poses a total prohibition of the rights to freedom of speech and...

The charging of Lena Hendry in September 2013 by the Malaysia government is seen as an effort to limit access to information and alternative views particularly those highlighting human rights violations and alternative perspectives. This violates individual, civil society and public rights to information, opinion and expression. The constitution stands as the highest law in the country and any law or act in the country cannot superceed the constitution. However, by using the censorship act to...