Guilty for screening a documentary.

Help #DefendLena
Feb 23, 2017

On Tuesday 21st February, Lena Hendry,

a human rights defender in Malaysia, was convicted for her part in
a screening of the film No Fire Zone an award-winning Channel 4
documentary which played a crucial role in exposing human rights
abuses, including war crimes and crimes against humanity,
committed at the end of Sri Lankas civil war. She is due to be
sentenced on 22nd March, at which point she faces a maximum
sentence of three years in jail and/or a maximum fine of up to
three years in prison.

Her purported crime falls under Malaysias draconian Film

Censorship Act which prohibits circulation, distribution, display,
production, sale, [or] hire of any film without the permission of
the Board of Censors. It effectively makes any film, or even
publicity about any film, illegal if it does not have prior approval
from the censorship authorities.
Lenas conviction, and the penalty she faces, would be a
disturbing blow to freedom of expression in Malaysia. But it would
also represent a triumph for the sustained effort, led by elements
within the former and current governments of Sri Lanka, to
repress and discredit the film and its findings.
As Human Rights Watch report, the prosecution in [Lenas] case
appears to have been strongly motivated by the Malaysian
governments desire to appease Sri Lankan embassy officials who
had publicly demanded that the film not be shown and visited the
venue on the day of the films showing to urge the venues
managers to cancel the event. It was likely as a direct result of
their pressure, that the screening was subsequently disrupted by
30 Malaysian officials, leading to the arrest of Lena and her being
charged in 2013.
Though the government of Sri Lanka which tried to stop the
screening has been ousted from power, suppression of the film
has persisted. As recently as yesterday, Sri Lankas ambassador
to Geneva continued to insinuate that the films footage had been
doctored. Last month, the Foreign Minister implied that, although
he had viewed the film himself, his fellow Sri Lankans were not
yet ready to do so. The punishment of Lena, with the aiding and
abetting of the government of Sri Lanka, will no doubt serve to
reinforce the perception that frank and open discussion of the
uncomfortable truths laid out in the film will not be tolerated by
the authorities. To date, no public screening of the film has taken
place in Sri Lanka.
Recent history and in particular the findings of a major
UN report which found evidence of system crimes during
Sri Lankas civil war has vindicated the film. Yet while
the perpetrators of the crimes it exposed walk free, Lena
faces jail for showing it. Her conviction is a basic denial of
free speech which should immediately be overturned.
Please stand with Lena and let her and the Malaysian authorities
know the world is watching by:
 Sending the letter below to key members the
Malaysian government. (A pdf version is also
available here. Addresses of recipients are enclosed at the
bottom. International Standard postage to Malaysia from the
UK costs 1.33 for a regular letter. Alternatively, you can
send a copy to the Malaysian Embassy in your country.)
Sharing a link to the letter on social media along with
the graphic above and the hashtag #DefendLena. If
using Twitter, you can target your message to the following
handles, the Malaysian Attorney General (@AGCPutrajaya),
the Minister of Home Affairs (@Zahid_Hamidi) and the Prime
Minister (@NajibRazak), using the hashtag #DefendLena
Further information about Lenas case is available on the No Fire
Zone website, here.
International Friends of Lena Hendry
C/O the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice
Grayston Centre,
28 Charles Sq
London
N1 6HT

To [full addresses below]:

Mr. Mohamed Apandi Ali, Attorney General

Mr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister of Home Affairs
Mr. Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia
22nd February 2017

Urgent Appeal regarding Malaysian Human Rights

Defender Lena Hendry

Your Excellencies,

On Tuesday 21st February 2017, Lena Hendry, a human rights

defender in Malaysia, was convicted of showing the film No Fire
Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka an award-winning
documentary film about human rights abuses at the end of Sri
Lankas civil war without the approval of Malaysias censorship
authorities. She is due to be sentenced on the 22nd March this
year.

I wish to protest in the strongest terms about this disgraceful

conviction which flies in the face of every principle of free speech
and democratic debate.

Lena faces a maximum sentence of three years in jail and/or a

maximum fine of 30,000 Malaysian Ringgit (5400/$6700) under
Malaysias Film Censorship Act which criminalizes the possession,
distribution, or showing of films which have not been approved by
the countrys censorship board. It effectively makes any film or
even publicity about any film illegal if it does not have prior
approval from the censorship authorities.

The reality is that the law is being used for political censorship,
and that is what appears to lie behind the conviction of Lena.
On the 3rd July 2013 the Malaysian human rights organization
Pusat KOMAS showed No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri
Lanka to an invited audience of 150 people in Kuala Lumpur, at a
screening attended by the films director, Callum Macrae. The
group went ahead with the screening despite pressure from the
Sri Lankan government whose forces were accused in the film of
responsibility for war crimes. As the screening got under way it
was raided by 30 officials from the Malaysian Home Ministry, the
Police and Immigration Officials. Three organizers were arrested
and Lena was subsequently charged in September 2013. A three
year-long legal battle ensued culminating in this guilty verdict.

The use of this draconian law to attack and prevent freedom of

speech is disturbing and unacceptable, and is in danger of
bringing Malaysia into international disrepute.

The Emmy and Bafta nominated film which Lena is charged with
showing is now widely and internationally acknowledged to have
played a key role in exposing the terrible atrocities committed at
the end of the war in Sri Lanka. It also helped convince delegates
to the UN Human Rights Council to launch a major inquiry into the
events which saw tens of thousands of innocent Tamil civilians
slaughtered in the space of a few weeks most killed by
government shelling.

The Sri Lankan government which ordered that shelling and

which tried to stop this screening has now been replaced by
popular vote of the Sri Lankan people. But many of its leading
members and military officials stand accused of direct command
responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

History has vindicated the film. Yet while the perpetrators of the
crimes it exposed walk free, Lena faces jail for showing it. Her
conviction is a denial of free speech which brings shame on
Malaysia and should immediately be overturned.

Yours sincerely,

International Friends of Lena Hendry

Friends of Lena Hendry can be contacted through:

NoFireZoneMovie@gmail.com
#DefendLena
Posted by Thavam