Trial Of 30 People Accused Of Terrorism Postponed

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), Sept 17 (Bernama) -- The high court here Tuesday postponed the trial of 30 alleged terrorists to allow the prosecution and defence to view all documents pertaining to the case. Justice Stephen Chung fixed Nov 1 for case management after all the lawyers obtained instructions from their clients. The court had originally set Sept 17 until Sept 27 to hear evidence from witnesses. However, counsel N. Sivananthan, representing 25 Filipinos among the 30 accused, informed the court that he had received "voluminous" documents and recordings as well as satellite imaging in relation to the case. "As the court understands, the clients either speak Bajau or Suluk. So, due to the language barrier, we need time to completely review the documents before discussing the materials with our clients," Sivananthan explained. Sivananthan told the court that preparations for the case required at least two months as a lot of technical work needed to be done, including the translation of documents. He contended that thorough preparations for the case would allow for a smooth and speedier proceedings. Meanwhile, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who leads the prosecution team, said as much as the prosecution wanted the trial to commence as soon as possible, he had no objection to the application. The case was heard at the East Malaysia state of Sabah Prison which was declared as an open court. Earlier, the court dismissed an application by one of the accused, Pabblo Allie, to have his charge amended that he should not be jointly tried with the other 29 accused. His counsel, Rowiena Rasid, claimed that the accusation brought against her client was defective, noting that the charge was general in nature and did not state in particular his offence. Abdul Gani argued that the accused had not been misled as he knew what he was charged with, including the fact that it was related to a terrorist group. Justice Chung said: "At this juncture, there's nothing before me that is prejudiced against the accused (Pabblo). "There's no reason before me to disturb the decision previously given by the earlier judge for a joint trial and for the reason stated, I dismiss the application." Pabblo was charged with being a member of a terrorist group and waging war against the Malaysian King. Among the 30 individuals accused of committing various offences between Feb 9 and April 10 were three locals, including a woman, Norhaida Ibnahi, 46, for harbouring a group of terrorists, while Abd Hadi Mawan, 49, and Abdul Majil Jubin, 41, were charged with being members of a terrorist group and with treason against the Malaysian King. The offences allegedly committed by the other 26 Filipino nationals included waging war against the Malaysian King, being members of a terrorist group and harbouring a group of terrorists. -- BERNAMA