Prisons Dept denies Azilah met VVIP

Prisons Department rubbishes claim death row inmate met VVIP

PETALING JAYA: The Prisons Department has rubbished claims by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah that former elite force policeman Azilah Hadri was taken out of the Kajang Prison to meet a VVIP.

“Azilah Hadri was never taken out from the Kajang Prison in 2019,” it said in response to the claim by Shafee, who is former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s principal lawyer.

“In fact, he has not been taken out (of the prison) since April 15, 2015. The last time he was taken out was on April 15, 2015. That was to attend a hearing at the Sepang magistrate’s court.”

The department said there were no records of Azilah leaving the prison for any reason since then.

“He was visited by family members 34 times and met lawyers 15 times the past year.

“These visits were in accordance with Regulation 179 of the Prison Rules 2000.

“As such, any statement by any party that Azilah was taken outside of the Kajang Prison this year to meet a VVIP is completely untrue.”

Similarly, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also categorically dismissed allegations of him meeting Azilah since his imprisonment.

“The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) wishes to categorically state that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has never met former police commando Azilah since the latter’s imprisonment for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu,” a statement issued by PMO read.

“Dr Mahathir also dismisses allegations that the government is behind Azilah’s revelation of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s involvement in the murder of Altantuya, as stated in his (Azilah’s) recent statutory declaration.”

The PMO pointed out that there were attempts to allude that he was the VVIP who allegedly met with Azilah.

The statement ended by saying that the government will leave the matter to relevant authorities to decide on the next course of action as it involves a legal process.

Shafee alleged that Azilah had been taken out from Kajang Prison in February this year to meet a VVIP.

Shafee claimed that he had “very reliable information” that Azilah had met a “VVIP”, among other individuals, outside the Sungai Buloh

Prison in February.

“I would not say who that person was or whether the person is a politician,” he said after attending Azilah’s murder case review application at the Federal Court registrar on Tuesday.

Azilah was sentenced to death together with former policeman Sirul Azhar Umar after losing their appeal in the Federal Court in 2015.

On Sunday, a news portal reported that a statutory declaration written by Azilah claimed that he and Sirul were instructed by Najib to kill Altantuya.

Azilah also said that Abdul Razak Baginda, who was acquitted of the murder and senior police officer Musa Safri, were aware of the “instruction”.

The details were among the applications filed by Azilah at the Federal Court to review the guilty verdict and death sentence passed on him.