[UPDATED] Jawi detains Siti Nuramira following release, expected to charge her under shariah law

KUALA LUMPUR – Siti Nuramira Natasha Abdullah, the woman who allegedly insulted Islam during an open mic comedy skit at the Crackhouse Comedy Club, has been detained by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) following her release from custody this morning.

According to her lawyer, R. Sivaraj, they were informed by a Jais (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) officer of the impending arrest at the Kuala Lumpur court complex here this morning.

“Upon release of my client at the KL Duta criminal court, there are plans to re-arrest her under Section 7 of the Shariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997,” he told The Vibes via a text message today.

It is learnt that officers from both Islamic departments were on standby to detain her.

Siti Nuramira is expected to be charged under shariah law at the shariah high court tomorrow.

She was expected to be released from custody today after managing to post bail yesterday.

Her other lawyer, Ramesh Chandran, had said that she will be delivered to the court complex here from the Beranang satellite prison at around 9.30am today. 

He added that her partner, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, should also be released at roughly the same time today from the Kuala Kubu Baru satellite prison, and is set to have his bail proceedings completed at the Petaling Jaya courthouse.

The Vibes had reported that the couple had managed to raise enough money to secure their combined bail of RM40,000 four days after a crowdfunding initiative was started.

On Sunday, Sivaraj said that RM15,000 had been collected from the public, adding that the plan was to bail out Siti Nuramira first before continuing to gather money for her partner’s bail.

Last Friday, The Vibes reported that legal group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) will be assisting in the crowdfunding initiative by allowing donations to be channelled to the group’s bank account.

Earlier in the same day, Sivaraj told The Vibes that the couple will be appealing to the public for financial aid to settle the bail amount of RM20,000 each, after failing to cough up the amount two days prior.

He added that a shariah lawyer has been appointed for Siti Nuramira even though religious authorities have yet to file charges.

However, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary has since confirmed with Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal, that the woman will be charged at the shariah court here under Section 7 of the Shariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997.

Under the said section, Siti Nuramira may be charged with insulting or bringing into contempt, etc. the religion of Islam.

If found guilty, she would be liable to a fine not exceeding RM3,000 or face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both upon conviction.

Last week, Siti Nuramira, 26, pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting religious disharmony during her performance at the comedy club here, with judge Siti Amirah Ghazali setting bail at RM20,000 with one surety and August 18 for mention.

In a video that went viral on social media, she claimed to be a Muslim and to have memorised 15 chapters (juzuk) of the Quran, before stripping off her headscarf and baju kurung to reveal a sleeveless top and miniskirt.

Alexander, 38, also maintained his innocence to two charges under Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA 1998 for uploading insensitive material on online platforms and faced a RM20,000 bail in total. – The Vibes, July 19, 2022