May 9 verdict on bid to declassify report into Amri’s enforced disappearance

May 9 verdict on bid to declassify report into Amri’s enforced disappearance


Amri Che Mat’s wife will know on May 9 whether she succeeds in her legal bid to declassify the special task force report into the activist’s enforced disappearance in 2016.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning fixed the decision date on Norhayati Mohd Ariffin’s judicial review to remove the Official Secrets Act 1972 classification over the report.

Her judicial review seeks to quash the OSA classification in order to access the report to strengthen her related civil action against the police and the federal government over her husband’s disappearance over six years ago.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, Norhayati’s counsel Larissa Ann-Louis confirmed that May 9 was set by judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh during online proceedings earlier today.

On Dec 19 last year, the court fixed today to hear the judicial review to declassify the task force report.

Back on June 26, 2019, two months after the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) concluded that Amri (above) was a victim of enforced disappearance by the police, the Home Ministry formed a special task force to re-investigate the matter.

However, there was a lack of updates on the report, leading civil society group Citizens Against Enforced Disappearance (Caged) in 2021 to urge the government to release the findings of the task force.

Special Branch

The task force was formed during the Pakatan Harapan administration headed by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2019.

Caged’s media statement that urged for the release of the findings was issued on April 2, 2021, during Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional administration.

Following the 15th general election in November last year, the government is now led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who took over from Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

On April 3, 2019, Suhakam’s public inquiry concluded that Amri and pastor Raymond Koh, who vanished in 2016 and 2017 respectively, were victims of enforced disappearance.

The three-member panel unanimously concluded that the perpetrators were members of the Special Branch from police headquarters Bukit Aman in Kuala Lumpur.

Koh’s family also has an ongoing civil court action against the police and government over the pastor’s enforced disappearance.

In relation to Norhayati’s judicial review to declassify the task force report over her husband’s disappearance, she claimed the government refused to disclose the OSA-labelled findings as it would purportedly be against national interest.

She contended the findings are not only relevant to her ongoing related civil action but also contain information that would be of public interest as the findings concern the conduct of the police surrounding Amri’s disappearance.

She further claimed the report is not a suitable matter to be classified under the OSA.