PETALING JAYA, May 9 — Sarawak Report editor and founder, Clare Rewcastle-Brown, stated that she is “nonetheless contemplating” returning to Malaysia, following the Terengganu High Court’s order to have her seem for the administration of her attraction case to overturn her conviction and two-year jail sentence for defaming the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah.
Speaking nearly from her dwelling base in London, Rewcastle-Brown lamented the obvious dogged hunt for her, following her remarks that have been deemed defamatory in her ebook, The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose.
“There is an absolute willpower to go after me by individuals in very excessive locations, by each entry that they’ve, by their wealth, by the civil courts, by their energy, by the prison course of and that is all intimidation that you shouldn’t bear down on journalists,” she stated at a fundraising occasion for her and two native publishers, Gerakbudaya Enterprise and Vinless Press, that are additionally implicated within the case.
Rewcastle-Brown stated her presence right here will merely be an “pointless distraction”.
“It’s fairly an embarrassing scenario and could be much more embarrassing I believe, for everybody involved if I turned up, dragged up in chains and thrown into jail for 2 years.
“I’m already being hammered by very rich entities by the civil courts.
“Yes, that’s the ‘invitation’, and I’m nonetheless contemplating it,” she stated when requested if she would return to Malaysia.
On February 7, Rewcastle-Brown was sentenced to two years in jail after she was discovered responsible of defaming Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Berita Harian reported.
Rewcastle-Brown was beforehand the topic of an arrest warrant issued by the court for her failure to present up for a cost in relation to the case.
According to Section 425A of the Criminal Procedure Code, the case’s trial was held in absentia.
The nationwide every day additionally reported that Rewcastle-Brown was prosecuted underneath Section 500 of the Penal Code for publishing remarks that have been deemed defamatory in her ebook.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah had filed a lawsuit on November 21, 2018 towards Rewcastle-Brown over the ebook’s claims and demanded damages of RM100 million.
She claimed that the defamatory remarks advised that she was concerned in corrupt practices and had meddled within the Terengganu state authorities’s affairs.
The Sultanah additionally stated the declare that she had used her standing to affect the institution of the Terengganu Investment Board (TIA), which was later referred to as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), was unfaithful.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah additional denied, as detailed within the ebook, that she had helped fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, in any other case referred to as Jho Low, to change into the TIA’s advisor.
Rewcastle-Brown, who’s a British citizen, was beforehand charged in absentia on the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court on September 23, 2021.
She subsequently made an utility to switch the case to the Kuala Lumpur High Court. However, this was rejected by Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Okay. Muniandy on June 21, final yr.
Muniandy then ordered that the case stay on trial on the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s Court and that it ought to proceed directly.
Sarawak Report editor Clare Newcastle-Brown seems on the display throughout a bunch image at Engage’s Freedom Fund press convention in Petaling Jaya May 9, 2024. — Picture by Raymond Manuel
Freedom Fund 2.0 to put together for settlement
To assist her and the 2 publishers who had to pay Sultanah Nur Zahirah RM300,000 in damages and RM120,000 in authorized value, NGO, Engage Citizen Network is fundraising to acquire RM292,000.
Rewcastle-Brown had already raised RM128,000 within the United Kingdom (UK).
“While the case remains to be underneath attraction to the Federal Court, the three respondents nonetheless have to standby the complete sum in case the Federal Court upholds the Court of Appeal’s resolution, and the quantity is required to be paid in full.
“However, ought to the Federal Court overturn the Court of Appeal’s resolution and the cash raised is not wanted for these three respondents, it will stay as a part of Freedom Fund 2.0 to assist others that fulfill our assist standards,” the NGO stated.
It added that the alleged defamation was a “easy matter of mistaken id within the first model of Clare’s ebook The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Exposé,” the place the Sultan’s sister was misidentified because the Sultanah as the one who launched Jho Low to the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
It added that although this error was corrected in subsequent variations of the ebook, the authorized motion continued.
“Furthermore, the federal government initiated one other prison defamation motion towards Clare and the case was moved to Terengganu, the complainant’s dwelling state and the Magistrate Court sentenced Clare to two years jail within the absence of the accused (Clare). No notices, summons or info was given to Clare’s attorneys to put together her defence or for her to seem. This is very irregular and probably unlawful,” the NGO’s govt committee stated, in a press release.
Engage added that, due to this fact, on the sixth anniversary of the 14th common election (GE14) it’s interesting to the Malaysian public to stand with Rewcastle-Brown and the publishers, by donating RM10 for the trio’s braveness in exposing corruption in Malaysia.
“We are grateful for his or her sacrifice to our nation, and we’re appalled that they need to nonetheless be punished for his or her noble deeds six years after GE14,” it added.
Engage cautioned that if the wanted fund just isn’t raised in time, this may have a detrimental impact on press freedom in Malaysia, that there aren’t any ensures that investigative journalism which exposes the highly effective and the corrupt, will likely be defended by the residents.
