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Swiss Court to hear Taib daughter’s defamation suit against environmentalists
Jamilah Taib Murray, daughter of Sarawak Governor Abdul Taib Mahmud, will face Swiss human rights and environment NGO Bruno Manser Funds (BMF) in the Civil Court of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland on Wednesday.
Taib Murray, her husband, Sean Murray, and her Canada-based real estate corporation Sakto Group are suing BMF and its director Lukas Straumann for defamation.
This was based on statements allegedly...
Jamilah Taib Murray, daughter of Sarawak Governor Abdul Taib Mahmud, will face Swiss human rights and environment NGO Bruno Manser Funds (BMF) in the Civil Court of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland on Wednesday.
Taib Murray, her husband, Sean Murray, and her Canada-based real estate corporation Sakto Group are suing BMF and its director Lukas Straumann for defamation.
This was based on statements allegedly linking Taib Murray and her real estate investments to corruption in the Sarawak logging industry.
"As the court hearing will call no witnesses, BMF will hold a Rainforest Tribunal the day before the trial, during which Indigenous activists and international experts will testify informally as witnesses to rainforest destruction in Sarawak.
“The event will be live-streamed," said the BMF in a statement today.
It added that the defamation case has been classified as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) by CASE, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe.
Abusive lawsuit
CASE defines a SLAPP as “an abusive lawsuit filed by a private party with the purpose of silencing critical speech.”
A 2022 Centre for Independent Journalism report claimed that SLAPPs are also “on the rise” in Malaysia. Most targets of SLAPPs are activists and journalists, while most perpetrators are corporations and high-ranking public servants.
The suit calls for the deletion of 249 BMF publications and the injunction of any further statements connecting Taib Murray and her corporation to alleged wrongdoing.
BMF had been at the forefront of scrutinising the wealth of Sarawak governor Abdul Taib Mahmud, who is Jamilah's father, amid accusations he had amassed a vast amount of wealth during his 33-year stint as the state's chief minister.
In an earlier filing, when seeking an injunction, Sakto said that the impression BMF had created was "wrong and damaging" against the company's reputation and business.
It noted that since 2010, the NGO had filed and sent numerous complaints and letters across six jurisdictions with various authorities about the company.
Sakto denied the allegations, calling them "untruthful theories about Sakto presented as facts".
In 2017, BMF produced an 86-page report titled "Safe Haven Canada", detailing Taib's alleged business empire in the country.
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