A prosecution appeal against the acquittal of seven university students previously detained for illegal assembly has been postponed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Judge Abdull Hamid Embong made the decision because one of the students - Wan Sanusi Wan Mohd Noor - had not received the court's notice to attend the hearing, which was to have begun today.

The appeal will now be heard on June 15. The students are represented by Latheefa Koya and Edmund Bon.

Dubbed the 'ISA 7', the students had been charged with illegal assembly in 2001 while protesting against the Internal Security Act (ISA) outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur on June 8 that year.

They were acquitted by the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court last April. Three days later, the Attorney-General's Chambers decided to file an appeal .

After their arrest, they were barred from attending classes by their respective universities - Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Teknologi Maya (UiTM), Universiti Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Despite their acquittal, only UTM has reinstated a student - Zulkefle Idris was allowed to complete the last six months of his diploma in computer science course.

UiTM student Helman Sanuddin's application to be reinstated was rejected. He filed a suit to challenge the decision last November and has been given leave by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to do so. The case is pending.