Nik Nazmi re-charged, granted discharge

PETALING JAYA: The sessions court today granted Selangor legislative assembly deputy speaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (pix) a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, after he was charged for a second time with breaching the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).
Judge Yasmin Abdul Razak ruled that the lower court is bound by the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had released Nik Nazmi.
Earlier, he was re-charged under Section 9 (1) of the PAA at the Petaling Jaya sessions court for his involvement in the "Black 505" rally held at the Kelana Jaya stadium on May 8 last year.
On April 25, the Court of Appeal ruled to strike out the charge against Nik Nazmi under the Act. The court also ruled that Section 9 (5) of the PAA – which provides for punishment for failure to give a 10-day notice to the authorities before a protest – is unconstitutional.
When the charge was read out to Nik Nazmi, his counsel N. Surendran urged the court not to take a plea, as he wanted to submit that his client could not be tried again after the Court of Appeal had acquitted him, as provided under Article 7 (2) of the Federal Constitution.
The section states that a person who has been convicted or acquitted shall not be tried again for the same offence, except if the decision has been quashed by a superior court.
A local news portal said deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin submitted that in the case of Nik Nazmi, he had not been tried for the offence. As such, the charge can be brought against him again.
Nik Nazmi said this case is unprecedented and his lawyer will look into the possibility of taking legal action against Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.
Yasmin said that the proper recourse was to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision and not to re-file the charge against Nazmi.
The three-man Court of Appeal bench led by judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof had said that while the police could impose restrictions on peaceful assembly, they could not penalise organisers and participants for non-compliance of the PAA.