KUALA LUMPUR (May 27): The High Court here on Monday issued a gag order barring blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, or Papagomo, from making any statements or comments related to the sedition charge he is facing.

Judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin made the decision after allowing the prosecution's application to review the Sessions Court's decision, which rejected the application for a gag order.

“The gag order applied by the prosecution is allowed as long as the respondent (Wan Muhammad Azri) does not make any comments or messages related to the charge, until the disposal of the case,” he said.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Datin Kalmizah Salleh argued that the gag order was important to prevent an uneasiness from occurring as a result of comments made related to the case.

“We applied for a gag order because the party involved in this case is His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia,” she said.

Lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, representing Wan Muhammad Azri, requested that the review be rejected, because the application did not state details regarding the impact on public order if the gag order was not imposed on his client.

On May 2, Wan Muhammad Azri, 41, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to the charge of posting seditious publications against Sultan Ibrahim on his X account.

The former Umno Youth exco member is accused of committing the act at a condominium unit in Bukit Bintang, here, at 12pm, on April 29.

The charge is framed under Paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, which can be punished under subsection 4(1) of the same law, which provides for a maximum fine of RM5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both, if convicted. 

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