(Oct 27): A group of lawyers from the Malaysian Bar Human Rights Committee will appear for activist Khalid Mohd Ismath in the Johor Baru High Court on Thursday to obtain bail, pending his trial for alleged inflammatory postings against the Johor royalty.

Lawyer Roger Chan Weng Keng, who would lead the team, said the committee was taking up the case because of public interest.

“The accused must not suffer legal injustice before the outcome of his trial. He is innocent until proven guilty,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

Chan, who is the co-chairman of the Bar’s constitutional law committee, said several lawyers from Johor would also join the team.

“Irrespective of whether the lawyers are from Johor or elsewhere, we are acting under the Malaysian Bar Human Rights Committee.”

He said Khalid was entitled to bail, similar to other accused charged with sedition or for violating the Communications and Multimedia Act for postings on Facebook and Twitter.

The criminal revision, a speedier version of an appeal, would be heard before judge Datuk Mohd Sofian Abdul Razak.

On October 13, Khalid was charged in the Johor Baru Sessions Court with three counts of sedition against the Johor royalty and another 11 counts under the Communications and Multimedia Act.

The 25-year-old Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) member claimed trial to the charges.

However, deputy public prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin applied to the court that Khalid be denied bail as he could abscond.

Edris cited the case of blogger Ali Abd Jalil who escaped from the country last year.

Ali had been charged with three counts of sedition for criticising the monarchy on Facebook.

He was released on bail but eventually fled to Sweden to seek asylum after claiming he had received death threats.

Judge Mohamad Hadlar Abdul Aziz agreed with Edris’s submission and fixed case management on Nov 11.

Lawyer Dinesh Muthal, who represented Khalid, submitted before Hadlar that it was unfair to use Ali’s case as the barometer to deny his client bail.

Dinesh said each case must be looked at independently on the facts of the matter.

“Bail is given with the aim to ensure the presence of the accused during trial,” he said. – The Malaysian Insider