Azilah wants to set aside the Federal Court ruling convicting him of murder and is seeking a retrial, while his trial lawyer is still working on a pardon.
The Federal Court has fixed April 20, 2020 for the hearing of former police commando Azilah Hadri’s application for a review of his conviction and death sentence over Altantuya Shaariibuu’s 2006 murder, his lawyer said.
It was reported J Kuldeep Kumar as acting for Azilah in the top court today.
Kuldeep said that his client wants the Federal Court to set aside its 2015 decision to uphold his conviction and also confirmed Azilah was seeking a retrial over the Mongolian’s murder.
The lawyer reportedly said that Azilah’s application for review was filed last week.
Azilah’s application is accompanied by a statutory declaration in which he accused former prime minister Najib Razak of ordering Altantuya’s murder.
“I confirm that…there is a Rule 137 application and a review application supported by an affidavit. That’s all I have to say,” Kuldeep told reporters after case management.
Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995 states that the court can hear any application or to make any order as may be necessary to prevent injustice or to prevent an abuse of the process of the Court.
On whether he would be handing over Azilah’s statutory declaration to the police, Kuldeep said, “Basically I have no comments on that for the time being”.
Meanwhile, Azilah’s application for a royal pardon is still awaiting a decision, his lawyer Datuk Hazman Ahmad said today.
Hazman, who represented Azilah in the murder trial at the High Court and in subsequent appeals at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, also clarified today that he is only the lawyer for Azilah in the pardon application.
“As far as I am concerned, for the pardon papers, yes, I was never discharged. For the review, I have no idea,” he was quoted as saying.
Hazman confirmed that he has not spoken to Azilah after news reports yesterday of the latter’s statutory declaration – which contained shocking allegations on Altantuya’s murder – in support of the review application.
“It was done without my knowledge. I presume he wants to engage another lawyer,” he said of the review application.
As for the pardon application filed in January 2016, Hazman said the last communication from the Selangor Pardons Board was months after that, when it asked for further evidence to support the request.
“There is no decision yet by the pardons board,” he said, confirming that the pardons board could either decide on its own or could also call for Azilah’s lawyers to present their case.
Earlier reports:
Dec 17, Najib Told “Hidden Things” May Come Out
Dec 17, Razak Baginda’s Lawyer Demands Contempt Action over Azilah’s Allegations
Dec 16, MP: Focus Also on Ex-AG, Cops, Judges in Altantuya Murder case
Dec 16, Najib: This Is an Attempt to Detain Me Without Bail for Murder
Dec 16, Azilah’s SD Will Have Severe Impact in PI Bala Suit
Dec 16, Ramkarpal to Cops: Use SD to Renew Probe into Altantuya’s Murder
Dec 16, Azilah Claims Suppression of Evidence, Material Facts During Court Proceedings
Dec 16, Najib Rubbishes Claims He Ordered Altantuya’s Murder
Dec 16, Azilah’s Explosive SD – Najib Ordered Me to Kill Altantuya