The Shah Alam High Court today postponed a suspected Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM) member's habeas corpus application against his Internal Security Act detention to allow his lawyers to meet him since they failed to do so yesterday.
Judge Suriyadi Halim Omar told the lawyers of Nasharuddin Nasir that he would not continue with the trial until they consult their client on whether he wanted to go ahead with the hearing.
"At the moment everyone is in a quandary, you can proceed after knowing the results of your meeting with the detainee but if you proceed now you are proceeding on an unknown basis.
"You have to cover yourself, at the moment because of the change in circumstances I can't hear it now.
"If the detainee says go ahead with it [the habeas corpus] application, you go ahead with it but what if he says no?" Suriyadi posed.
The judge adjourned the hearing to tomorrow.
On Tuesday, Suriyadi ordered the police to give Nasharuddin access to his lawyers after the defence won the first round of the hearing.
Chest pains
However, a spanner was thrown into the defence teams works yesterday when Malik Imtiaz and his co-counsel were told that a 2.30pm appointment with their client was cancelled as Nasharuddin was sent to the hospital after complaining of chest pains.
Malik and his team were told later by the senior federal counsel that another appointment had been fixed for 2.30pm this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Malik argued that Nasharuddin should be brought to court when the case is heard but the judge disallowed this.
Suriyadi reiterated that the lawyer meet the detainee first before progressing.
Nasharuddin, a 45-year-old fish monger from Hulu Langat, Selangor was arrested under the ISA in April during a two-day police operation.
Police claim that KMM was a terror organisation which aimed to topple the government through violent means.
Nasharuddin's habeas corpus application, filed by his wife last month, named the government, Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai as respondents.
Habeas corpus is a writ that challenges the legality of a person's detention.
When met later, Nashruddin's brother, Mohd Yusof told malaysiakini that the detainee does not suffer from any heart ailment.
"He only has an on-and-off problem with gout," he said, adding that he was also not allowed to visit his brother who is being treated at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Nasharuddin's wife, Norlida Johuri, who was also present at the hearing, said her husband was a healthy person.
The couple have five children between the ages one and 14.
The detainee is also represented by Edmund Bon, Ranjit Singh and KY Ho and Saiful Izham while the government is represented by Nordin Hassan and Kamaludin Mohd Said.
In a related development, malaysiakini was told that the lawyers had met Nasharuddin at the Buikt Aman federal police headquarters this afternoon.
According to one of his lawyers, they met for 25 minutes.
