Petaling Jaya (The Star/ANN) - Malaysian former ISA detainee Yazid Sufaat, 49, has been charged with inciting terrorist acts that "threatened the public in Syria".
Although he was among the first three people to be arrested under the newly enacted Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, he was charged under Section 130G(a) of the Penal Code.
His wife's religious teacher, Halimah Hussein, 52, was charged with abetting Yazid in inciting the acts at a house in Ampang between August and October 2012.
The third person, Mohd Hilmi Hasim has been remanded and did not appear in the Ampang magistrate's court yesterday.
The charges against Yazid and Halimah come just three months after two other Malaysians, Razif Mohd Ariff, 30 and Muhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, 21, were arrested in Lebanon on suspicion of terrorism.
They have since been charged with being terrorists linked to al-Qaeda, by a military tribunal. They were accused of trying to enter Syria via Turkey on a jihadist mission to carry out suicide attacks.
Both are now being detained in a military prison in Beirut.
Yesterday, the charges were read out by a court interpreter before magistrate Zulyana Zollkapli.
Under Section 130G(a) of the Penal Code the accused cannot be granted bail.
The case was then transferred to the High Court.
Lead counsel for the accused Amer Hamzah Arshad said a plea would be recorded when the case is heard at the Shah Alam High Court.
Special Task Force (Operations and Counter Terrorism) Director Comm Datuk Mohamad Fuzi Harun said Yazid and Halimah had been sent to the Sungai Buloh Prison pending court proceedings.
Yazid, a former army captain, was detained under the ISA in December 2001 for alleged ties to the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network. He was released from Kamunting in 2008.
Yazid and Hilmi were nabbed at the Jalan Duta court complex canteen on Wednesday, where they had been working in a cafeteria owned by Yazid's wife Chomel Mohamad while Halimah was arrested at her home in Kajang on the same day.
Chomel, 48, arrived in court with her daughter Soraya Nur, 17, at 9:30am accompanied by lawyers and friends. They put on brave faces and chatted with reporters.
Court proceedings, which only began at about 12:30pm, were adjourned about an hour later.
Both Chomel and Soraya remained calm when Yazid entered.
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