Self-professed apostate Kamariah Ali was released on bail at about 11am today, 26 days after her village in Kampung Batu 13 in Hulu Besut was raided by the religious affairs department.

Kuala Terengganu Syariah High Court presiding judge Mohamad Abdullah set bail at RM5,000 for both the offences she is charged with under the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (Takzir) 2001.

Kamariah's ( photo ) bail was argued by Bar Council state legal aid centre chairperson Faridah Yusoff.

First detained on July 20 in a dragnet by the district religious affairs department, she was subsequently denied bail twice and held at the Pengkalan Chepa Prison in Kelantan.

She faces a charge under section 10 for insulting the state religious authorities by violating a fatwa against self-styled spiritual leader Ariffin Mohammad or better known as Ayah Pin.

The fatwa, which declared him a Muslim deviant, prohibited the public from any involvement with him or his activities, described as a threat to public order and faith.

The case which involves 44 others besides Kamariah will be re-mentioned on Sept 1.

A staunch Ayah Pin follower, the former ustazah (religious teacher) faces an additional charge under section 7 for declaring herself an apostate to avoid action under syariah laws.

The case has been scheduled for re-mention on Sept 15.

Habeas corpus application

Contacted, Haris Mohamed Ibrahim, her counsel for civil matters, who was in court today said she was on her way home.

"Now I need to discuss with my fellow counsels on the need to withdraw the habeas corpus application filed earlier," he said.

On July 27, Kamariah, 54, and fellow villager Daud Mamat, another self-declared apostate, filed a writ of habeas corpus at the Kuala Lumpur High Court claiming unlawful arrest and detention.

"We will be filing for a declaratory release later today to clarify whether, having renounced Islam, syariah laws still applied to them."

He said the application for Daud, 74 ( photo ), becomes relevant based on the same declaration made in 1998 together with Kamariah's late husband Mohamed Ya and another villager Mad Yaacob Ismail, 52.

Haris, who represented the four right up to the Federal Court before it was dismissed, said similar applications were also made in 2001 but the "factual circumstances were different then".

The habeas corpus hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the search for syariah lawyers in Terengganu willing to represent the 45 Ayah Pin followers continues.

On July 18, Ayah Pin's village dubbed Sky Kingdom was partially torched with petrol bombs by parang-wielding mobsters who smashed up vehicles and glass windows in a pre-dawn attack.

Out of economic necessity and uncertainty, almost three-quarter of the commune-dwellers have moved to nearby villages or left for other states or surviving on the goodwill of accepting relatives and friends.