Irene acquitted - after 13 years
After 13 years of struggle, social activist Irene Fernandez was finally freed from a charge of publishing false news about abuse of migrant workers in a detention camp.
What is acquited?
In criminal law, an acquittal is a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict of guilty being entered against the accused. The opposite result is a conviction.
Who is she?
Irene Fernandez (*1946) is the director and co-founder of the non-governmental organization Tenaganita, which promotes the rights of migrant workers and other oppressed and poor people in Malaysia. They had been given the promise of getting support for their families at home by the rich, but instead, they got cheated and had to suffer malnutrition, torture and sexual abuse.
In 1995, Irene Fernandez published a report on the living conditions of the migrant workers. She was arrested in 1996 and charged with 'maliciously publishing false news'. (Published Facts also Kena Tangkap, Only happen in Bolehland) After seven years of trial, she was found guilty in 2003 and imprisoned for one year. She was later freed on bail but her passport is held by the courts and, as a convicted person, she was barred from standing as parliamentary candidate in the 2004 Malaysian elections. Despite her restricted civil rights, she carries on her everyday life and continues her work.
In 2005, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her outstanding and courageous work to stop violence against women and abuses of migrant and poor workers". [1]
Irene Fernandez's appeal at the High Court resumed on the 28th Oct 2008. On the 24th of November 2008, Justice Mohd Apandi Ali overturned her earlier conviction and acquitted her of the earlier conviction.
Why 13 years?
Maybe: Not enuf judge.
Perhaps: Typing error.
Quite Likely: Someone influence.