Perlis mufti among 10 named ‘persons of interest’ in activist's disappearance
Published on: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
By:
FMT, Ho Kit Yen
Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin (left) was named a ‘person of interest’ in activist Amri Che Mat’s disappearance.
Kuala Lumpur: The task force probing activist Amri Che Mat’s disappearance named Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin and nine other individuals as “persons of interest” in his disappearance.
Amri’s wife, Norhayati Ariffin, told the High Court hearing her lawsuit against the police and government that the identities of the 10 individuals were disclosed by the task force in its report following an inquiry.
ADVERTISEMENT
She said the report also named former Special Branch assistant director Awaluddin Jadid and cops Razman Ramli and Wan Nasirudin Pa’Wan Teh.
Razman and Nasirudin were among the defendants named in Norhayati’s lawsuit.
“The task force said Amri’s disappearance was ‘likely to be caused by direct or indirect actions from irresponsible police officers, who acted alone or in groups (together) with religious organisations’.
“The task force mentioned that these people can help in the investigation,” Norhayati said.
ADVERTISEMENT
She had filed the suit in 2019 against the government and 20 others over the conduct of the home ministry and police in their investigation into her husband’s disappearance in 2016.
The list of defendants also includes former inspectors-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar and Fuzi Harun.
ADVERTISEMENT
‘Prime suspect’
Norhayati also said the report named Saiful Bahari Abdul Aziz as a potential key witness in Amri’s disappearance.
“The task force said the police failed to make Saiful a prime suspect and to track him down.
“They mentioned that the Special Branch did not provide full cooperation to the task force on getting information about Saiful,” said Norhayati.
Earlier, senior federal counsel Zetty Zurina Kamaruddin applied for the court to exclude the public from today’s proceedings on grounds that the task force’s report was still classified as government secret.
However, Norhayati’s lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said another High Court made no mention of any restrictions when granting her limited access to the document.
“The order said reporters are allowed to cover the proceedings when the report is used to question witnesses but they cannot be given a copy,” he added.
Justice Su Tiang Joo said he stood guided by the other High Court’s ruling and allowed journalists and members of the public to be present during the proceedings.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
