Activist Lena Hendry was today found guilty of airing a documentary on the Sri Lankan civil war - No Fire Zone - which had not been approved by the Malaysian Censorship Board.

Magistrate Mohd Rehan Mohd Aris said the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt in the case against Hendry, a programme manager at NGO Pusat Komas. 

He, however, set March 22 to deliver the sentence and requested for the defence lawyers to submit their written submission by March 1.

Lawyers New Sin Yew and Joshua Tay appeared for Hendry while DPP Nurakmal Farhan Aziz and Aftal Mariz acted on behalf of the government. 

When met later outside the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's court, Hendry expressed disappointment with the verdict but said she will continue to appeal her case.

"I'm very disappointed...based on the trial, I never see any grounds for conviction.

"We will definitely file for appeal," said Hendry.

Under Section 6(1)(b) of the Film Censorship Act 2002, Hendry could face up to three years jail or a fine not exceeding RM30,000.

She was accused of committing the offence at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce Hall at Jalan Maharajalela in Kuala Lumpur, at 9pm on July 3, 2013.

At the time, local and international human rights groups had condemned the charge as being allegedly politically motivated and a breach of basic civil liberties.

The trial started in December 2015 and Mohd Rehan had on March 10 last year, acquitted Hendry of the charge.

Her conviction today follows the prosecution's appeal against her acquittal. 

In a statement later today, Hendry said she was shocked with what had happened but was not discouraged and was eager to read the grounds of judgment.

She said that the Censorship Act 2002 was too ambigous and may even cover home videos and other short films. 

"Standing up for your rights is not a crime and standing up for others is definitely not a crime as well.

"We hope to fight this because freedom of expression for all Malaysian citizens is guaranteed under the Federal Constitution and we have to take back our rights as the citizen of this country," she said.