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PETALING JAYA: A Syariah court here has set December 17 to issue its decision on whether to acquit book publisher Ezra Zaid of a religious charge for publishing a book that went against Islamic teachings.
Subordinate Sharie Court Judge Shukran Yusof set the date after hearing arguments from Ezra’s attorney, Zulkifli Che Yong, and Sharie prosecutor, Atras Mohamad Zin, today.
Zulkifli told the court that Ezra should be granted a full acquittal after the Court of Appeal ruled in his favor and vacated the charge last year.
He added that the decision was also confirmed by the Federal Court, when it denied the Selangor government permission to challenge the decision of the Court of Appeals.
“The decision still stands. He could be charged again if he was discharged, ”Zulkifli said.
Atras previously urged the court to grant a “discharge not amounting to acquittal” order to Ezra, in addition to asking the court to lose the books confiscated by the Selangor (Jais) Islamic Religious Department during its 2012 raid.
The state government also wanted the court to issue a “gag order” to prevent Ezra and his agents from commenting on the case.
Shukran then said that the defense can file further submissions by December 17 in response to the prosecutor’s gag order argument.
Ezra won his appeal last year by challenging Jais’s actions in prosecuting him for the work of Canadian author Irshad Manji, “Allah, Liberty and Love,” and its translated version in Bahasa melayu.
The book was banned in 2012 because it was considered to contravene the teachings of the Quran and hadith.
Ezra claimed trial in the Syariah Subordinate Court here on a charge under Section 16 of the Syariah Penal Law.
