The grounds given in refusing to temporarily return Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez's passport is "beyond belief", a prominent human rights lawyer said.

Former Bar Council chairperson, Param Cumaraswamy, in expressing his amazement over the two verdicts denying Fernandez her passport to attend meetings overseas, questioned the grounds for refusal which has yet to be given by the magistrates.

"One can only assume that the magistrates concerned in the two applications accepted the submissions by the public prosecutor that Ms Fernandez would tarnish or defame the country overseas," he said in a statement.

"Since when such a ground could be a legally acceptable ground to deny one's fundamental right to freedom of movement is beyond belief.

"I am surprised with the deputy public prosecutor for taking such a position in the two applications," added Param.

He said the DPP had reportedly contended that Fernandez's presence abroad at the human rights meetings were of no interest to the public and the country.

"This absurd argument implies that if her presence at those meetings were of no interest to the country, then she could have her passport returned!" he exclaimed.

Role of Prosecutor

Param, who is the former special United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, also reminded the DPP of principle 12 of the UN Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutor.

The provisions states that prosecutors should "perform their duties fairly, consistently and expeditiously, and respect and protect human dignity and uphold human rights" in order to ensure a smooth criminal justice system.

He added that such contentions by government lawyers has "brought shame to the administration of justice in Malaysia", thereby tarnishing its image internationally due to the wide coverage given to Fernandez's case - the longest to date in the country's history.

On Friday, the labour rights activist failed in her second attempt to get her passport returned when the magistrate rejected her application within one minute of the prosecution's submission. No reasons were given.

Slapped with a travel ban on Nov 4, Fernandez was unable to attend two expert group meetings in the US.

On Oct 16, she was convicted for publishing 'false news' and sentenced to a 12-month jail term although the court allowed her a stay of execution pending her appeal to the High Court.

She was required to post bail of RM3,000 and surrender her passport as part of the bail conditions.