The Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court will deliver its judgment on the "false news" trial involving labour activist Irene Fernandez on Tuesday, Oct 14. It was originally scheduled for March 17 next year.

Malaysiakini understands that one reason for the surprise move was the impending resignation of magistrate Juliana Mohamed. Her last day at work is on Friday, Oct 17.

It is learnt that Juliana sent in her request to use the courtroom for the decision last Tuesday and the approval was given a day later. However, the lawyers only received the notice on Oct 9 and they were requested to send in their written submissions two days later.

The Fernandez's trial which began in June 1996 has dragged on for over seven years and has been described as one of the longest-running cases in Malaysian legal history.

The decision to deliver judgement five months earlier has put both Fernandez and her lawyers in a quandary.

Counsel abroad

For one, Fernandez's lead counsel M Puravalen is currently in Pakistan and only able to return on Oct 20.

"Thus, it would be impossible for him to send in the written submission or be present in court when the judgment is made," said labour activist group Tenaganita in a statement. Fernandez is Tenaganita director.

"We are very concerned over the manner in which the judgment has been fast tracked and speeded up. The sudden manner in which the decision has been made to conclude the trial will also deny Fernandez the right to make her submissions," Tenaganita lamented.

When contacted, Fernandez confirmed that she has yet to send in the submissions as requested due to the absence of her lead counsel. She expressed her shock over the short notice and claimed the sudden change of date may result in a "miscarriage of justice".

"We are not saying (the magistrate) shouldn't resign, but the date has been fixed for next March and now it was brought forward for five months after the case was delayed for more than seven years, we must determine what is the best form of justice here," she said.

"As we know, this case is not a criminal one, it's a political trial," she added.

She hoped supporters would turn up to show their support on the day of judgment. Fernandez, if convicted, could face up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to RM20,000.

Insufficient time

One of the lawyers in the defence team, Edmund Bon, said the short notice would not allow both sides sufficient time to prepare the submissions.

If the judgment is delivered in the absence of the lead counsel, it also infringes Fernandez's "right for counsel of her choice" as provided in the constitution.

"Nobody is able to come up with submissions without such a short period especially in this case which had dragged on for over seven years and seen more than 50 witnesses. It is unfair for the defence," he told malaysiakini .

Interestingly however, Bon noted that despite the short notice, the prosecution was able and has sent in a 82-page-long submissions after the magistrate's notice.

"Puravalen needs to reply to the (prosecution's) 82-page submission and there is no way that can be done by Tuesday. We therefore call on the magistrate to postpone delivering her judgment until she obtains a full submission from Fernandez's counsel," he appealed.

Fernandez was arrested on March 18, 1996, for allegedly publishing false information relating to the deaths of inmates at immigration detention camps after she released a memorandum during a press conference in August 1995 about torture and deaths in camps for illegal immigrants.

Following the arrest, she was subsequently charged under Section 8A(2) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (1984) for "maliciously publishing false news". She is currently out on bail.