Malaysian court grants former Prime Minister Najib access to house arrest decree | Courts News

A three-member panel ruled by a 2-1 majority to approve Najib Razak’s appeal to use the decree to argue his case before the Supreme Court.

A Malaysian appeals court has granted jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s request to see a document he said would allow him to serve his sentence at home, in a rare victory for a disgraced former leader at the heart of the country’s biggest scandal.

A three-member panel ruled by a 2-1 majority on Monday, approving Najib’s appeal to use the decree to argue his case before the Supreme Court.

“Given that there is no challenge (to the existence of the decree), there is no justification for not complying with the order,” said Mehmet Firuz Gevril, one of the three appeals court judges.

71-year-old Najib, who was sentenced to billions of dollars in prison 1MDB scandalHe had appealed a lower court ruling last July that rejected his attempt to confirm the existence and implementation of a royal order that he said entitled him to house arrest.

The Malaysian Pardons Board, which was headed at the time by King Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, agreed in February last year to halve Najib’s prison sentence from 12 to six years and reduce the fines imposed on him, sparking public outrage.

But Najib insisted on issuing an “additional order.” House arrest It was issued by the former king alongside the decision and was not implemented by the authorities.

After the court ruling on Monday, Malaysia’s Home Minister said the Prisons Department had not received any notification about Najib’s possible detention at his home last year.

Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in a press conference that the Ministry of Interior had not received any communication regarding this case from the former king of Malaysia, who chaired the pardon board. He added, “The government will fully implement royal orders if they are received.”

According to the constitution, the king, who changes every five years under Malaysia’s unique monarchy, has the power to make decisions on granting clemency, based on the advice of the Pardon Board.

His lawyer, Mohamed Shafie Abdullah, said in a press conference that after Monday’s ruling, “Najib was happy.” “(He’s) very relieved that they’re finally realizing some of the injustices he’s been subjected to.”

Najib was convicted in 2020 of breach of trust and abuse of power over illegally receiving embezzled funds from a unit of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Najib remains on trial for corruption in several other cases linked to 1MDB. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Malaysian and American investigators estimate that $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, and more than $1 billion was transferred to accounts linked to Najib.