KUALA LUMPUR: A former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee and his friend pleaded not guilty at the High Court here yesterday, of being involved in the inciting of violence and threatening of the public in Syria, last year.
Yazid Sufaat, 49, and his accomplice Halimah Hussein, 52, merely nodded their heads in understanding and claimed trial to the charges.
On Feb 8, Yazid, a canteen operator at the Jalan Duta Court Complex here and Halimah, a housewife were charged with allegedly committing the offence at a house in Taman Bukit Ampang, Ampang between 8.30 and 10.30 am, from Aug 1 to Oct 20, 2012.
They were the first individuals to be charged under Section 130G(a) and Section 109 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum of 30 years in prison and fine, upon conviction, after the abolishment of the ISA.
Meanwhile, Judge Kamardin Hashim set the trial date for four days starting May 20 and allowed both the accused to be jointly tried.
Yazid’s lawyer, Amer Hamzah Arshad told the court that he and his colleague Edmund Bon, who represented Halimah, would file an application to drop the charges, in the near future.
Halimah was also represented by former Solicitor General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden.
Judge Kamardin also set Feb 25 to hear the habeas corpus application by canteen assistant Muhammad Hilmi, 33, who was detained with Yazid.
Muhammad Hilmi filed the application through his mother Rahamah Abdul Majid, 58, seeking to be freed from police custody.
He claimed that he was detained under Section 4(1) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 but has yet to be charged in court. — Bernama