The incident, which made international news, saw a group of Muslims protesting against the construction of a Hindu temple here and parading with a severed cow's head.
They had marched with the bloodied head from a mosque to the Selangor menteri besar's office. Some of the protesters also stomped and spat on the head and made fiery speeches
The protest drew flak from various quarters, including government leaders, who condemned it as insensitive since the cow is considered sacred to Hindus.
According to an AP report, defence lawyer Afifuddin Hafifi said that all 12 pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal assembly and were fined RM1,000 each.
Two of them, who brought and stepped on the cow's head, also pleaded guilty to sedition. Both were fined an additional RM3,000 and one was sentenced to a week in prison.
Meanwhile, Vaithilingam said the court's decision did not reflect the gravity of the offence.
"The sentences seem to be very light after the huge commotion and insult," he said. The men's actions "stirred up the emotions throughout the country. This could have caused a riot".
The protest was among the most high-profile in a string of interfaith disputes in recent years that threatened decades of harmonious ties in Malaysia.
Early this year, a string of firebomb attacks and vandalism hit mostly non-Muslim places of worship following a court verdict that allowed Christians to use "Allah" in Malay-language publications.
No comments:
Post a Comment