Altantuya’s killer to file for clemency soon, says lawyer

Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar were last week sentenced to death for the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 23, 2015.Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, one of the two former police commandos sentenced to death for the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, will file for an application to obtain a pardon without further delay.His lawyer Datuk Hazman Ahmad said he would be meeting his client next week to take further instruction before writing to the Attorney-General."Besides the legal process, it is also the constitutional right of a convict to write to the authorities to be pardoned for the crime committed," he told The Malaysian Insider.
 
Hazman said he would proceed without delay although another convict, Corporal Sirul Azhar, has fled.Sirul and Azilah have been free since August 23, 2013, after the Court of Appeal overturned their murder convictions.However, the Federal Court reinstated the convictions and upheld the death sentence for both men last week.Evidence in court revealed that Altantuya, a Mongolian translator, was murdered before her body was blown up by C4 explosives on October 18, 2006, in the outskirts of Shah Alam, near the capital city Kuala Lumpur.Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a confidante of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul but was acquitted by the High Court in 2008 without his defence being called. The government did not appeal.Despite the conviction, the motive for the murder of Altantuya was never revealed.Sirul left for Australia last October and was absent when the Federal Court last week delivered the verdict that both were guilty of the murder.The 43-year-old was reported to have been arrested in Brisbane, Australia three days ago and Malaysian authorities have made a formal request that Sirul be extradited to Malaysia.However, Australian law dictates that a person facing the death penalty in his or her home country cannot be extradited.It was also reported today that Sirul has been released by the Australian Immigration authorities but that his passport is being withheld.Sirul's lawyer are expected to file a legal challenge on any attempt to extradite Sirul and legal experts share the view that the process will take time.Meanwhile, Hazman said he would write to the Attorney-General's Chambers to obtain the pardon for his client who is now held in solitary confinement in Sungai Buloh prison."The Attorney-General will then present a paper with his reccomendations to Selangor Pardons Board which will be chaired by the state ruler," he said, adding that the matter was referred to the state because the crime had taken place in the state.
  
The Federal Constitution states that the board is required to consider the written opinion of the Attorney-General before advising the ruler.Lawyer M. Visvanathan said the ruler had absolute discretion when a convict made a plea for his life to be spared.

"Usually the death sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if the plea for clemency is allowed," he added.Meanwhile, the New Straits Times reported today that the Australian authorities have released Sirul with conditions attached and that his movements in the country are also being monitored."His passport is being held, but Australian Immigration released him on certain conditions, including having to come forward if required by the authorities there," a Wisma Putra spokesman told the NST.Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday that Putrajaya had formally asked Australia to hand over Sirul, who fled there last October ahead of a court decision last week that upheld his death sentence.Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim was reported as saying that the matter had been referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers for repatriation.Australian media has reported that Sirul will not be sent back as Canberra forbids repatriating suspects who face the death penalty, setting up a potential tug-of-war.Australia's foreign minister Julie Bishop, who is in Washington, was reported as saying that she was "not in a position to give any details in relation to the matter", or how it would affect the relationship between the two countries. – January 23, 2015.