Trial of Fahmi's defamation suits against Papagomo, 2 others to begin Oct 2
Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said the statements were baseless, and that the Selangor Islamic Religious Council confirmed that he had not made any political speech as alleged by the defendants.
KUALA LUMPUR : The trial of communications minister Fahmi Fadzil's defamation suits against three individuals, including blogger Papagomo whose real name is Wan Azri Wan Deris, will begin on Oct 2 at the High Court here.
Fahmi filed the suits separately against Wan Azri, freelance preacher Ahmad Dusuki Abd Rani, and Facebook account holder Fauzan Madzlan on Sept 5, 2023 over allegations that Fahmi, the Lembah Pantai MP, misused a place of worship by giving a political speech at a mosque in Rawang, Selangor.
Lawyer Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi, representing Fahmi, told reporters after proceedings today that Justice Roz Mawar Rozain had allowed his client's application for his lawsuits against the three defendants to be heard together.
'The court then set the dates for the trial on Oct 2 and 3,' he said.
Today's proceeding was also attended by lawyer Zamri Ibrahim, representing Fauzan.
According to his statement of claim, Fahmi alleged that the three defendants, Wan Azri, Dusuki and Fauzan, published defamatory statements accusing him of misusing the mosque for election campaigning purposes and acting contrary to the decrees and orders of the Sultan of Selangor.
Fahmi claimed that the statements were published on Fauzan's Facebook account, 'N13 Kuang', as well as Dusuki's Facebook and Instagram accounts on July 31, 2023, and on Wan Azri's TikTok and Facebook accounts on Aug 1, the same year.
He said the statements were baseless, and that the Selangor Islamic Religious Council confirmed that he had not made any political speech as alleged by the defendants.
Fahmi is seeking general, aggravated, or exemplary damages and an injunction to prevent the defendants from repeating or causing the republication of the statements in question.
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