Labour rights activist Irene Fernandez's second attempt to attend human rights events abroad failed again when the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court today rejected her application for the return of her passport.

Magistrate Syafeera Mohd Said rejected the application immediately about a minute after hearing arguments from defence counsel P Valen and deputy public prosecutor Stanley Augustine, but gave no reason for the decision.

"The applicant's application is rejected," said Syafeera briefly before she closed the file.

The rejection has forced Fernandez to forego attending a "hearing" for human rights defenders in Germany on Dec 10 - an event organised by German parliamentarians. She would also have to miss a meeting for women right activists in Bangkok on Dec 15.

Last month, she was denied attending two expert group meetings in the United States and Canada on human rights and Aids issues respectively after the court rejected her application for the return of her passport. She has since appealed against the rejection.

Fernandez had surrendered her passport to the court in October as part of her bail condition after being convicted for publishing false news with malicious intent.

She was released on a RM3,000 bail after she filed a notice of appeal at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against the conviction and the 12-months' jail sentence.

No evidence

Earlier, Valen had urged the court to release Fernandez's passport as the prosecution has not produced any evidence that his client will be "defaming the country" as alleged by the prosecutor.

"If there is a risk of her to defame the country as the prosecution had contended, they should file an application to vary the terms of the bail. But there is no such application which means the prosecution has no cogent proof to substantiate their suspicion," he said.

He also said that Fernandez has never abused the court's trust during the times when it allowed her to travel abroad throughout her seven-year trial.

However Augustine replied that Fernandez's status has changed since then as she has now been convicted of a serious offence.

He argued that the court should not release Fernandez's passport as her presence in the events abroad are of no interest to the public and the country.