Komas programme manager Lena Hendry was fined RM10,000 or ordered to spend a year in jail by a magistrate's court in Kuala Lumpur today for screening the documentary on the Sri Lankan civil war titled 'No Fire Zone' four years ago.
Magistrate Mohd Rehan Mohd Aris said he made the decision after considering the mitigating factors.
Hendry paid the fine later in the afternoon.
Earlier in court, she was ordered to pay the fine by today. This was after her lawyer New Sin Yew asked for a deferment for it to be paid tomorrow.
Hendry was found guilty on Feb 21, for screening the documentary at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce Hall at Jalan Maharajalela in Kuala Lumpur, at 9pm on July 3, 2013.
She faced up to three years’ jail or a fine not exceeding RM30,000, under Section 6(1)(b) of the Film Censorship Act, 2002.
Hendry was represented by New and Joshua Tay, while DPP Nurakmal Farhan Aziz and Aftal Mariz appeared for the prosecution.
New had sought for Hendry to be bound over under Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code as the Sri Lanka High Commissioner here had written a letter to Wisma Putra, saying the government had changed its stance towards the screening.
“Since the Sri Lankan government has opened up its doors to the international media to report on the Sri Lanka genocide, then the court should reconsider the sentence. Sri Lanka has now granted access to all, including the media.
“This case is about freedom of expression and the offence committed by Lena is pursuant to this (Sri Lanka) complaint. So would public interests be served to secure conviction against Lena with this development from Sri Lanka?” he asked.
DPP Norakmal, in asking for an appropriate sentence, said Sri Lanka, had in its letter to Wisma Putra, had stated that it is not out to influence the outcome of Hendry's case, with the letter.
Appealing conviction
Speaking to reporters outside the court after paying the fine, New said they had already filed an appeal against Hendry's conviction and sentence.
He said the existing laws were vague, and had broad sweeping legislation, even when one is trying to highlight something which is of public importance, and concerns genocide.
“Last week the victim was 'Beauty and the Beast' and today, it is Lena a victim of the Film Censorship Act,” he added.
Hendry said she had expected to be fined over the screening, but dubbed the move by the court as suppression of freedom of expression.
"The screening of a film is for information purposes. It is becoming ridiculous, that the LPF has become like the police, telling the people what they can and cannot watch.
"People are no longer stupid," she said, adding that she would continue to fight to seek reforms to the Film Censorship Act.
Initially, Hendry was acquitted on March 10, last year, by the same magistrate, without her defence being called.
However, on appeal, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ordered her defence to be called.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson slammed the sentence handed down to Hendry for violating the Film Censorship Act.
He warned that this may be just the beginning of more restrictive government action.
"One wonders what's next in the queue for censorship, what film will become the government's next target? The worry is that it will be another film about a human rights struggle, or perhaps even something about international investigations and the 1MDB scandal.
"The problem is once a government starts down the road of this kind of censorship, the restrictions quickly become attractive, and ultimately addictive, to government officials seeking to snuff out alternative narratives to the government line," he said in a statement.
He argued that the reality is that Hendry should have never faced these charges in the first place, as her conviction should be vacated and the Film Censorship Act which violates freedom of speech, scrapped.
"This whole case serves as a cautionary example of the kind of selective prosecution that Malaysia should be moving away from rather than embracing wholeheartedly," he concluded.
Meanwhile, Callum Macrae, the director of 'No Fire Zone', also tweeted this about Henry's fine.
Lena Hendry fined £1800 for showing #NoFireZone. Relieved she's not jailed of course- but this is a shocking,shameful,disgraceful conviction
-Mkini
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