Kuala Terengganu High Court orders retrial in Clare Rewcastle-Brown defamation case
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 — The Kuala Terengganu High Court today ruled that the defamation trial of Clare Rewcastle-Brown over alleged defamation of the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah, was invalid.
Kosmo! reported that High Court judge Datuk Seri Mohd Razi Harun ordered that the case, involving the founder and editor of Sarawak Report, be reheard at the Magistrates’ Court.
“I order that this case be retried before a new magistrate on the same charge against the appellant (Rewcastle-Brown).
“The prosecution witnesses must be recalled to give their testimony,” he said in delivering his judgment today.
Mohd Razi said the ruling stemmed from a technical legal issue, as the Magistrates’ Court had previously proceeded with the trial without determining whether it was fair to do so in the absence of the appellant.
On February 7, 2024, the Magistrates’ Court sentenced Rewcastle-Brown to two years’ imprisonment after finding her guilty of defaming Sultanah Nur Zahirah in her absence throughout the proceedings.
Magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri made the decision after concluding that the offence had been proven despite the accused not being present during the trial.
According to the charge, Rewcastle-Brown was accused of damaging the reputation of Sultanah Nur Zahirah in her book titled The Sarawak Report — The Inside Story of the 1MDB Exposé.
She was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
