Hindraf leader files petition against Sessions Court ruling

Source : The Hindu

Kuala Lumpur (PTI): An ethnic Indian leader, held under a draconian security law for having organised a rally demanding better treatment for the community, has filed a petition against a lower court verdict rejecting his objection to being charged with sedition.

P Uthayakumar, the legal adviser of non-governmental Hindu Rights Action Forum (Hindraf) which has been spearheading protests against alleged marginalisation of ethnic Indians, stated in his petition yesterday that he was not satisfied with the ruling by the Sessions Court on December 11 last year, the 'Star' daily reported on wednesday.

Judge Sabariah Othman had rejected the objection raised by his counsel, saying that the absence of Uthayakumar's signature in an alleged seditious letter did not make the charge defective.

In the petition, Uthayakumar, who filed the petition at the Sessions Court (criminal) registry through his lawyers, claimed the judge had erred when she dismissed the objection and ruled that the letter did not have to be signed merely because it was posted from a website, the report said.

Uthayakumar had pleaded not guilty to publishing the alleged letter when he was produced on December 11 in the Sessions Court here to face the charge.

The Hindraf legal adviser was arrested under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial, after the group organised a massive rally on November 25 last year, declared illegal by the government. Over 20,000 ethnic Indians had participated in the rally.