KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Borders Malaysia today implored the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) to end its continued prosecution of bookstore manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz that was twice ruled illegal and unconstitutional.
Pointing out that the charge was adjudged to unlawful by both the civil High Court and Court of Appeal, the bookstore chain said there was no longer any basis for JAWI to keep prosecuting her over books it seized from one its branches in 2012
“It has been three years since this incident happened. It has been three years since Nik Raina lost her absolute freedom to become a person who is currently under bail.
“It has been three years that Nik Raina has had to endure adversities in her life including being looked upon with suspicion by the Muslim community,” Berjaya Books chief operating officer Yau Su Peng said in a statement.
“At the very least, Nik Raina should be released by way of a discharge not amounting to an acquittal. In that manner, Nik Raina’s freedom and personal liberty can be duly restored and neither JAWI nor anyone else will suffer any prejudice.”
On June 19, 2012, Nik Raina was charged under Section 13 (1) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territory) Act for allegedly selling and distributing a book that is contrary to the Islamic laws. If convicted, she may be fined up to RM3,000 or jailed up to two years, or both.
On December 30 last year, the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier High Court decision against JAWI, unanimously ruling that the Islamic authority had acted unconstitutionally when it seized copies of a book during a raid on the Borders bookstore branch where Nik Raina is the manager, three weeks before it was officially banned.
JAWI appealed against the appellate court’s decision on January 28, just two days before the deadline to contest the ruling.
In JAWI’s application, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan is asking the Federal Court to consider whether civil action can be used to review the prosecution of a criminal case, especially when the offence is “against the precepts of Islam.”
He also questioned whether it is possible to take action under Shariah law against a corporate entity that is “incapable of professing a religion”, and whether action by a religious authority that leads to prosecution in the Shariah Court can be challenged in the civil court.
Following JAWI’s latest move, Nik Raina has no choice but to wait until the entire process is over before she finds out if she can finally get a Shariah charge against her dropped.
Her Shariah trial is scheduled for mention this Thursday.
– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/have-mercy-already-borders-asks-jawi-ahead-of-renewed-case-against-manager#sthash.TLFOBE0Z.dpuf