A Malaysian court on Friday overturned a 2009 murder conviction for two police officers in a scandal that fascinated the nation and saw critics try to draw a link to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
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| Azilah & Sirul |
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| Drawings of Azilah & Sirul who had their face fully coverd from media and pixmen |
Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar were convicted of the 2006 killing of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old model and interpreter at the centre of allegations of huge kickbacks in a government purchase of French submarines.
"Both the accused have been acquitted and discharged. They are free men now," defence lawyer Hazman Ahmad told AFP.
"Based on the evidence, justice has been done."
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| Altantuya Shaaribuu |
"Based on the evidence, justice has been done."
Prosecutors said the government would appeal the decision.
Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30 and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35 had been members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas (the Malaysian Police Special Action Force or counter-terrorism unit) and were both assigned to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who was also the Defence Minister at the time of the murder. Both suspect have covered themselves fully not to show their faces to the public during their trips to court.
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| Azilah Hadri |
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| Sirul Azhar |
Government critics have long alleged that the two men, members of an elite police unit that guards top ministers, were the fall guys in the killing to hide the involvement of their masters at the highest levels of government.
The case stems from charges that Abdul Razak Baginda, a former close associate of Najib, arranged the kickbacks in the $1.1-billion purchase of French Scorpene submarines in 2002.
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GAMBAR CCTV Hotel Malaya menunjukkan dua lelaki dipercayai Sirul Azhar Omar (kiri) dan Azilah Hadri (kanan) ditayangkan di Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam pada 16 Julai lalu.
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Najib was defence minister at the time.
Altantuya, who was then Abdul Razak's lover, had reportedly been involved in negotiations over the purchase.
Abdul Razak was later charged with abetting her murder by ordering the two officers to kill her after she allegedly harassed him for a cut of the kickbacks.
Abdul Razak, who is no relation to the prime minister, was acquitted in 2008.
The remains of Altantuya's body were found blown up with military-grade explosives in a jungle clearing near the capital Kuala Lumpur.
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| Razak Baginsa freed earlier in 2008 |
Najib has vehemently denied any involvement in the affair, but the corruption allegations have never been fully probed and whispers over the case have continued to bother him.
It was not immediately clear whether the men would be publicly available to comment in the extremely sensitive matter.
The decision triggered an immediate reaction on Malaysian social media, with many calling it part of a widely suspected conspiracy to free the men in return for their silence.
Sirul Azhar has been previously quoted telling a court that he was being "sacrificed" to protect others but the men are not known to have implicated anyone else.
Defence says Musa’s absence was key to successful appeal in Altantuya case
Counsel Datuk Hazman Ahmad was all choked up after seeing his client, Azilah Hadri, acquitted of the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu today.
Taking a minute to let the decision sink in, he told reporters that he was glad the Court of Appeal had concurred with the inconsistencies raised by the lawyers.
Hazman, assisted by J Kuldeep Kumar, has represented Azilah from the trial to this appeal.
“We are thankful that the Court of Appeal has heard our argument on our notice of alibi, the inconsistencies in the call logs, the police station diary and the police witnesses’ testimonies in alleging that my client was present at the crime scene,” he said.
"These were our main grounds and the court accepted our appeal on these grounds."
Meanwhile, Sirul Azhar Umar's lawyers, Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, Hasnal Redzua Merican and Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, were also all smiles.
Kamarul said the court accepted all the contentions raised by the defence at the appeal.
"The judges had accepted that not calling Deputy Superintendent Musa Safri (the prime minister's former aide-de-camp) had left a gap in the prosecution’s case," he said.
“From the prosecution’s records, Musa was central to the role and could have helped explain a lot of things, like motive. This was essential to the prosecution's case."
Kamarul added that he did not want to say more than that as the prosecution will be making appeal.
“Nevertheless, we are satisfied with the outcome today,” he said. - August 23, 2013.
Altantuya’s father upset over acquittal, wants Mongolia to intervene
Setev Shaariibuu feels it is time the Mongolian government makes a statement on his daughter's murder case and the acquittal of the two policemen today. The Malaysian Insider pic, August 23, 2013.The father of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu is upset with the Court of Appeal's decision today to acquit the two ex-Malaysian policemen who were charged with her murder.
News portal MalaysiaKini contacted Setev Shaariibuu through a Mongolian lawyer but the man refused to give a statement and only said, “It is time the government of Mongolia make a statement about this."
The report quoted Mongolian lawyer Munkhsaruul Mijiddorj as saying his client expected the verdict and felt that he must now take the case to a higher level to seek justice for his daughter.
Source- Malaysian Insider Berita Harian, BBC
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