KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — A human rights activist charged with screening an unapproved war documentary will soon get her day in court when her challenge to the constitutionality of the Film Censorship Act is heard before the Federal Court.
The activist, Lena Hendry, was given the green light by the High Court today to take her case up with the apex court, after the former ruled that the challenge must be disposed off before her charge under the same Act can proceed.
“Case referred to the Federal Court to determine the constitutional issues that were raised pertaining to the Film Censorship Act,” Lena’s lawyer Joshua Tay told Malay Mail Online.
“The High Court referred it to the Federal Court as it opined that the decision of the Federal Court in relation to those questions is necessary for the determination of the prosecution against Lena Hendry,” he added.
Lena is challenging Section 6 of the FCA which prohibits individuals from exhibiting a film not approved by the Film Censorship Board, claiming the provision violates Article 10 of the Federal Constitution on freedom of speech and expression.
Under Section 6, individuals found guilty of airing unapproved films can be fined up to RM30,000 or jailed for no more than three years, or both.
The Pusat Komas programme coordinator was charged in September 2013 under the FCA with screening the documentary “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” on July 3, 2013, at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall here without approval from the Film Censorship Board.
But Lena subsequently applied to challenge the law on the point of constitutionality and was allowed by the Magistrate’s Court last November to raise her case at the High Court.
Tay said today that should the Federal Court declare Section 6 of the FCA unconstitutional, the charge against Lena would be deemed as void.
The lawyer also said that Section 6 is “absurd” as it can criminalise any video not approved by the censorship board, whether or not the content of the film has a negative effect on the public.
“This simply means, even the possession, display, circulation, exhibition, distribution of innocent cartoons, wedding or family function videos or even a normal video recorded from your smartphones are caught under Section 6, if there is no approval from the Board,” he said.
International human rights group Human Rights Watch said in October 2013 that the charges against Lena appeared to be politically motivated.
According to the group, the Sri Lanka embassy had urged Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry and the Film Censorship Board to stop the screening of the award-winning documentary on alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government during the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009.
“The documentary shows government artillery attacks that killed children, women, and the elderly and extrajudicial executions of captured fighters and civilians by government forces,” said Human Rights Watch.
