PUTRAJAYA: Lawyer Shafee Abdullah has expressed confidence that former prime minister Najib Razak’s conviction in the SRC International corruption case will be reviewed.
“This is based on a valid reason, which is (Najib) not getting a fair trial,” he said during a press conference at the Federal Court.
The senior lawyer said Najib may be tried again in the High Court or Federal Court. However, he believes the latter is more likely.
“But if they agree with Justice Nazlan, they may order for the whole thing to be moved back to the High Court,” he said, referring to the ruling by then High Court judge Nazlan Ghazali.
Nazlan had in 2020 found Najib guilty of all seven charges brought against him for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million of funds belonging to SRC International.
He subsequently sentenced Najib to 12 years’ imprisonment and a RM210 million fine. Najib is currently seeking a review of the conviction and sentence.
On a related matter, Shafee said the United Nations was looking into Najib’s petition seeking a release from prison or retrial of his SRC case.
He said the petition was filed as Najib was not given a fair trial.
Earlier this month, Najib submitted a petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD).
“UNWGAD is one of the few UN bodies that entertains personal complaints of individuals from UN member countries.
“It is looking into it now,” he added.
