KUALA LUMPAR, Feb 25 (AFP) - A Malaysian High Court rejected Sunday a lawsuit by four Muslims who were jailed after renouncing Islam that their constitutional right to freedom of religion had been breached.
Judge Suriyadi Halim Omar said the rights of the couple and two men to profess any religion had not been breached, the official Bernama news agency reported.
"The action to renounce the religion (Islam) cannot be equated with professing a religion, hence it does not support their allegations," he said in Kota Baharu, in northeastern Kelantan state.
Mohamad Ya, 55, his wife Kamariah Ali, 49, Mat Yaakub Ismail, 54, and Daud Mamat, 60, were jailed last November by the Shariah (Islamic) high court in Kota Baru after being convicted of defying an order from the Shariah Appeals Court to "repent" their involvement in "deviationist" teachings.
No information was available about the alleged deviationist teachings.
The appeals court in October 1996 had ordered the four to report to an Islamic judge's office monthly to show repentance but they ignored the order.
As a result they were charged in the Shariah High Court on October 5 last year and sentenced on November 19.
Lawyers for the four filed suit against the Islamic and Malay Customs Council in Kelantan and against the state government in January.
They wanted the secular high court in the state capital Kota Baru to rule that they have the freedom under the federal constitution to practise the religion of their choice.
They claimed this overrides federal or state laws on religious freedom. The four were not present in court as they were serving their jail sentence.
Suriyadi also said the Shariah Court has not declared them apostates, hence they are still Muslims.
Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom of religious belief. But it also says that laws in individual states "may control or restrict the propogation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam."
Shariah courts which deal with breaches by Muslims of the Islamic code operate alongside civil courts in much of the country.
Islam is the national religion and all Malays, who make up just over half the population, are constitutionally defined as Muslims. Malaysian Muslims can apply to change their religion but this is rare.