ACTIVIST Adam Adli Abdul Halim was acquitted and discharged by the Kuala Lumpur magistrate’s court today, over his participation in the #KitaLawan rally two years ago.

He was charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act for attending the street protest from the Sogo shopping mall through Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, which ended at KLCC on February 28 that year.

Adam Adli said the court decision came as a surprise. 

“I hope this (court decision) will set a precedent for those who are charged under this act, ” he said.

Adam Adli, who is based in Penang, was represented by lawyer Latheefa Koya.

Magistrate Ahmad Solihin Abd Wahid in reading out his judgment said his decision was derived from the prosecution’s failure to prove a prima facie case against Adam Adli.

Adam Adli last year challenged the charges against him at the Federal Court.

He had questioned whether Section 4(1) of Peaceful Assembly Act 2012(PAA) on the banning of street demonstration was constitutional. 

Adam Adli was charged together with Jingga 13 activist Mohd Fariz Musa in 2015.

On September 8 the same year, both pleaded not guilty to participating in street demonstration in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur.

On November 2, the magistrate’s court discharged, but did not acquit, Fariz, 47, on the charge of participating in the  #KitaLawan street demonstration two years ago.

Solihin made the decision after he was informed by deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) allowed the representation by  Fariz’s lawyer, Eric Paulsen, for a review of the charge against him.

Raja Zaizul Faridah told reporters that the representation was made because Fariz had diabetes and one of his legs had been amputated. – November 28, 2017.