Nik Nazmi acquitted, 10-day notice in Peaceful Assembly Act 'unconstitutional'

The Court of Appeal today struck out a charge against Selangor Deputy Speaker, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, for failing to give a 10-day notice to police for a the Black Out Rally at the Kelana Jaya Stadium last year.

According to a report by The Malaysian Insider, a three-man bench led by judge Datuk Mohamad Ariff bin Md Yusof had ruled unanimously that it was unconstitutional to require that citizens give 10 days notice to hold a peacefully assembly as stated in Section 9 (1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).

Ariff said that some parts of the Act contained “some conceptual difficulty”.

Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi took to Twitter to thank his lawyers N. Surendran, Latheefa Koya, Syahredzan Johan and Melissa Sasidaran:

Alhamdulillah Mahkamah Rayuan ketepikan pertuduhan sy bawah Akta Perhimpunan Aman utk #Blackout505... (bhg 1)
— Nik Nazmi (@niknazmi) April 25, 2014

& isytihar sek 9(5) Akta terbatal krn bertentangan dgn Perlembagaan. Keputusan bersejarah utk hak berhimpun scr aman... (bhg 2)
— Nik Nazmi (@niknazmi) April 25, 2014

terima kasih pasukan guaman sy yg gigih @nsurendrann @LatheefaKoya @syahredzan @melissa_ms (bhg akhir)
— Nik Nazmi (@niknazmi) April 25, 2014

The news was well received by politicians, lawyers and members of the public:

@niknazmi @Azmi_MohdNor alhamdulillah + tahniah. A milestone in democratisation. Tq to brave ppl like u YB Bro!
— Saifuddin Abdullah (@saifuddinabd) April 25, 2014

@lawyers4liberty @niknazmi Brilliant news!!!
— Ambiga Sreenevasan (@Ambiga_S) April 25, 2014

Woohoo! unbelievable but its true! RT @Ambiga_S: @niknazmi Brilliant news!!!
— Lawyers For Liberty (@lawyers4liberty) April 25, 2014

We dedicate our @niknazmi victory in declaring Sec 9(5) of PAA unconstitutional to Karpal Singh who had been an inspiration to all of us.
— Lawyers For Liberty (@lawyers4liberty) April 25, 2014

@niknazmi Alhamdulillah.Tahniah YB! #YNWA
— H Y (@hazimyusoff95) April 25, 2014

Congrats YB @niknazmi , good job fellow lawyers @lawyers4liberty feat @syahredzan ! It was remarkable. #PeacefulAssemblyAct
— Mukhzani Alia (@mukhzanialia) April 25, 2014

MORE UPDATES TO COME.