Sessions Court to decide on July 29 if Rafizi should enter defence in suit

PETALING JAYA: The Sessions Court here today fixed July 29 to decide if PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli should enter his defence in a suit against him where he allegedly "provoked" Umno members last year.
Sessions court judge Azwarnida Affandi said this after listening to submissions at the end of the prosecution's case against the Pandan MP.
Rafizi was charged with allegedly insulting Selangor Umno members with the intent to disrupt public peace.
He was charged under Section 504 of the Penal Code, which carries a two-year jail sentence, a fine of up to RM4,000, or both, if convicted.
The allegation was based on Rafizi’s comments in an article titled "Will Rafizi quit if Selangor is not toppled?", where he had explained the so-called "Kajang Move" and alleged that Selangor Umno could have been responsible for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a church in the run-up to the Kajang by-election last year.
The article was posted in now defunct news portal FZ.com on Feb 4, 2014, and published by The Edge the following day.
During submissions, Rafizi's lawyer Eric Paulsen told the court that his client's statement had not led to any demonstration, outrage of the public or burning of effigies.
"FZ.com did not get any threatening calls nor was there any incident at The Edge building because of the article," he said.
"Therefore, I call for my client to be discharged and acquitted from this charge," Paulsen said.
However, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Azari Harun stated that there is a prima facie case against Rafizi, stating the phrases used in the articles were offending words against Umno Selangor.
He added that the article alleged that Umno Selangor was responsible for the motolov cocktail attacks in the church, when the party did not endorse such an act.
"This is a direct allegation made against Umno Selangor," he said.
Mohd Azari added that such a statement could cause tension among Muslims and Christians in the society.