IT was a miracle that the families of 12 men accused of supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did not expect.

Annun Nancy Gunasekaren, daughter of Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, said her family members were stunned when told that the attorney-general was dropping all charges against her father and the 11 others detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

“As soon as we heard the news from my father’s friend, we were speechless. This is a remarkable decision by the attorney-general, who also provided rational reasons for it. We are indebted to him,” she said.  

She said her family had lost hope that her 60-year-old father would be released when the court had rejected Gadek assemblyman G. Saminathan’s bail application. 

“After that, we began to focus on the process of sending memos to the government including the Home Affairs Minister.

Yesterday the Attorney-General’s Chambers announced it was dropping the charges against a dozen men charged with supporting the LTTE.

In a statement, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas said “there is no realistic prospect of conviction for any of the 12 accused on any of the 34 charges”.

Thomas said the men’s possession of photos of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, deemed a hero by many Tamils, was insufficient to amount to supporting terrorism.

“Accordingly, in the exercise of my discretion pursuant to Article 145(3) of the federal constitution, I have decided to discontinue proceedings against them with immediate effect,” Thomas said.

Thomas added that prosecutors must take account of facts that become known as the case develops, even after charges are laid. 

The charges against the men under the Penal Code for “giving support”, “possession”, “distribution” and “display” of LTTE material and photos of its leaders could not be defined as acts of terror under the law.

“Having their photos and other representations in one’s mobile phone or on a Facebook account does not transform one into being a terrorist.

“Just because each of these leaders used terror or violence to achieve their political goals does not mean that an ardent supporter online should be regarded as a terrorist or is planning a terrorist act,” Thomas said.

As for the next step, Annun said the family would wait in court on Monday to bring her father home.

Meanwhile, Ravindran Subramaniam, son of restaurant owner B. Subramaniam, who is among the 12 arrested, said the good news coincided with Maha Shivaratri, which was celebrated by Hindus worldwide, yesterday.

Ravindran, 31, said the Hindu celebration marked the night when Lord Shiva performed the heavenly dance.  

“It is in line with the meaning of the celebration. My father will be free after this even though his 133 days in jail is something that we cannot change. But I am glad he is coming home at last.

“I just hope that on Monday, he and the 11 others will be freed without any conditions as we have not heard anything about their release even though the charges against them were dropped. So we only can hope for the best,” he told The Malaysian Insight. – February 22, 2020.