The seizure of 180 copies of “Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta” five years ago by the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) is illegal as it was done without a proper warrant, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur was told today.

Lawyer K Shanmuga, appearing for ZI Publications Sdn Bhd and its director Ezra Zaid, argued that there was no fatwa in place relating to the book, which is the Bahasa Malaysia translation of Irshad Manji’s “Allah, Liberty and Love.”

Shanmuga noted that in Section 16 of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995, one cannot be charged with an offence when it had not been gazetted.

The seizure also went against Article 7, which protects an individual from retroactive criminal laws, the lawyer added...