Reformasi activist held for possession of 'Best of Ezam' VCDs    http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/200208210016936.php Reformasi activist held for possession of 'Best of Ezam' VCDs Susan Loone 1:38pm Wed Aug 21st, 2002 Police personnel stationed at the Kulim magistrates' court yesterday confiscated and detained a reformasi activist for illegal possession of 21 VCDs featuring a collection of speeches by Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, entitled 'Best of Ezam'. Nasir Isa, 45, was held for five hours for questioning at the Kulim district police headquarters allegedly for carrying 'illegal' copies of the VCDs not approved by the Information Ministry. All videos recordings for public distribution must be certified by the ministry's National Film Development Corporation. Nasir was later arrested but he has yet to be told of his charge. He posted bail at RM2,000 in the afternoon and was told to report back on Saturday, Aug 24. He was accompanied by Penang Keadilan deputy chief and lawyer Cheah Kah Peng and two other party supporters. Nasir has been politically active in reformasi activities and was part of the 'urgent arrest' team which provide assistance for those detained by police during street demonstrations. District police chief Ismail Ayub confirmed the arrest but declined to comment beyond saying that the charge against Nasir would be made known on Saturday. No intention of sell VCDs Earlier, Nasir was in court to observe the trial of 10 Keadilan leaders and members who were jointly charged with taking part in an illegal assembly with the intention to riot, and wrongfully confining bus drivers and passengers from reaching their destination during the Nov 2000 Lunas by-election. Forty-five minutes into the trial yesterday, which started at 10.30am, Nasir was asked to leave the courtroom and report to the magistrates' court's guard house. He was then told that his bag, which was left at the guard house, contained 'illegal' VCDs. One of the police officers at the court later escorted him to the police station. When malaysiakini spoke to Nasir after he had posted his bail, he said he had no intentions to sell the VCDs or distribute them in public and was not expecting any arrest. The VCDs contain a compilation of Ezam's speeches at various political rallies before he was detained under the controversial Internal Security Act last April for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government through street demonstrations. "I brought them from Kuala Lumpur to give party supporters and members souvenirs to take home after the trial," he said. Since the launch of the reformasi movement four years ago, several distributers have been charged in court for illegal possession and for selling VCDs which contained political speeches by opposition leaders. _________ http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/200208210016934.php Witness in riot trial quizzed for not reporting IC incident Susan Loone 1:26pm Wed Aug 21st, 2002 No police report was lodged against Keadilan leader Azmin Ali for allegedly demanding for the identity cards of bus drivers and passengers who were stopped on their way to the Lunas by-election in 2000, the Magistrates' Court in Kulim, Kedah, heard yesterday. Azmin's legal counsel Pravan Singh said that, the act of demanding ICs from anyone is a "crucial act", yet the witness under cross-examination, S Murugesan, had not included this alleged act by Azmin in the report he lodged against the opposition leader on Nov 29, 2000. In reply, Murugesan said he omitted that detail as his driving motive then was to report the tense situation and violence around him. Murugesan, a lawyer and Selangor MIC youth leader, denied that his bringing up of that detail now, in court, was "an afterthought". He was testifying in the trial against 10 opposition leaders and members who had allegedly participated in an illegal assembly with the intention to riot, and wrongfully confining scores of bus drivers and passengers. In the dock were Azmin, who is Hulu Kelang state assembly representative, Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua, Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Information chief Ruslan Kasim, supreme council member N Gobalakrishnan, Kedah Keadilan youth secretary Zamil Ibrahim, Taman Sejahtera Lunas PAS Youth chief Ahmad Khairudin Jamaluddin, Sungai Petani PAS Youth committee member Mohd Khairi Yahya, Kota Kuala Muda PAS committee member Mohd Fauzi Awang Kechik and PAS volunteer Khairul Nizar Ismail. Tian was brought to the court from the Kamunting Detention Centre where he is undergoing a two-year detention under the Internal Security Act. Similarly, Ezam too was brought from Kajang prison where he is undergoing a two-year sentence after being found guilty of committing an offence under the Official Secrets Act early this month. Prior to that, he was in Kamunting undergoung a two-year ISA detention. When asked how Murugesan could conclusively identify those who stopped the buses to be Keadilan supporters, Murugesan said he knew them from the tags that they wore, which had the party logo. However, Pravan disputed Murugesan's assumption that they were Keadilan people simply because they were wearing the party tags. No one injured To another question, Murugesan said none of the passengers had been injured or beaten up. The day before, he had alleged in court that the group who detained the buses carried sticks, cameras and helmets. Later, Pravan inferred that the buses were directed to the police station because they ferried phantom voters. "If they are not phantom voters, why do they have to come on polling day?" Pravan asked. To that, Murugesan said his movement, MIC Selangor, brought along supporters to Lunas to give their fellow Barisan Nasional member candidate "moral support". Magistrate Rosnani Saud* presided over the case while DPP Hashim Hamzah prosecuted. Besides Pravan, Md Yunos Shariff, Cheah Kah Peng and Gooi Hock Seng were the legal counsel for the 10. ---------------------------------------------------------------- *Correction: It was erroneously reported Monday that the presiding magistrate was Noor Hashim Ismail. We regret the error. _________ 'Riot' witness ticked off for hearsay remark http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/200208210016914.php ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Berita Malaysia / bmalaysia mailing lists ============================================ Read postings, subscribe/unsubscribe or change settings at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beritamalaysia http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bmalaysia