Muhammad Safwan

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Charge:	"Sedition (includes mockery of authority/king/monarchy, etc)"
Sentence:	"10 months & fined RMS5,000 ringgit (US$1,115)"
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2013
Year Convicted:	2014
Year Cleared:	2017
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Malaysia
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Kuala Lumpur
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Muhammad Safwan was wrongly convicted on September 5, 2014 of seditious speech at a public rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 13, 2013. After his conviction following a bench trial in the Sessions Court Safwan sentenced to 10 months in jail and fined RMS5,000 ringgit (U.S. $1,115). Safwan appealed. In 2016 the High Court affirmed his conviction. On December 19, 2017 the Malaysia Court of Appeal unanimously set-aside Adli's conviction and ordered his acquittal on the basis the prosecution failed to introduce evidence proving he intended for his speech to be seditious, and therefore the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he committed his convicted offense. On Nov. 25, 2017 the Court of Appeal ruled that Section 3(3) of the Sedition Act of 1948, which allows for a conviction once it is proved that the defendant made a seditious statement, was unconstitutional, and that the prosecution must prove intent when filing charges in sedition cases. The Court's ruling transformed sedition under the statute from being a strict liability offense in which the prosecution only to prove an offending statement was made, to one in which the prosecutors had to prove the defendant intended to promote sedition."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On December 19, 2017 the Malaysia Court of Appeal unanimously set-aside Adli's conviction and ordered his acquittal on the basis his alleged speech was not seditious, and therefore the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he committed his convicted offense."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
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Information Source 1:	"Malaysian Court Acquits Ex-Student Activist of Sedition, By Shuman Vasu, Benar News (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), December 20, 2016"
Information Location 1:	https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/malaysian/sedition-dropped-12202016143453.html
Information Source 2:	"Activist Adam Adli gets one year jail after convicted of sedition, By Ida Lim, Malay Mail Online (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia), September 19, 2014"
Information Location 2:	http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/activist-adam-adli-gets-one-year-jail-after-convicted-of-sedition#11CCrF40WWi8yoO3.97
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Muhammad Safwan

Charge:

"Sedition (includes mockery of authority/king/monarchy, etc)"

Sentence:

"10 months & fined RMS5,000 ringgit (US$1,115)"

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2013

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Malaysia

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Kuala Lumpur

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On December 19, 2017 the Malaysia Court of Appeal unanimously set-aside Adli's conviction and ordered his acquittal on the basis his alleged speech was not seditious, and therefore the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he committed his convicted offense."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Malaysian Court Acquits Ex-Student Activist of Sedition, By Shuman Vasu, Benar News (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), December 20, 2016"

Information Location 1:

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/malaysian/sedition-dropped-12202016143453.html

Information Source 2:

"Activist Adam Adli gets one year jail after convicted of sedition, By Ida Lim, Malay Mail Online (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia), September 19, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/activist-adam-adli-gets-one-year-jail-after-convicted-of-sedition#11CCrF40WWi8yoO3.97

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Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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