The Federal Court of Malaysia has commuted the death sentence of Azilah Hadri, a former bodyguard of ex-prime minister Najib Razak, who was convicted of the 2006 murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu. The decision to reduce his sentence followed a plea for clemency from Altantuya’s father.
Azilah, a 48-year-old former chief inspector with the Royal Malaysian Police, was originally sentenced to death in 2009 for the brutal killing of 28-year-old Altantuya, a model and interpreter. Her body was discovered on October 18, 2006, after being blown up by C4 explosives outside Kuala Lumpur. Altantuya was linked to a US$2 billion French submarine deal, which was marred by corruption allegations.
On October 2, 2024, a three-judge panel led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat ruled in favor of Azilah’s request to reduce his sentence. The judges found the arguments compelling, particularly the emotional plea from Shaariibuu Setev, Altantuya’s father. The letter emphasized the sanctity of life, appealing to the principles upheld by the United Nations.
“We set aside the death sentence and substitute it with imprisonment for 40 years from the date of arrest, with 12 strokes of the cane,” Tengku Maimun stated in court. Azilah is now set to be released in 2046, barring any further legal developments.
This ruling came after significant legal reforms in Malaysia, which abolished the mandatory death penalty. The country’s recent legal changes allow judges more discretion in sentencing for serious crimes, such as murder, which now carries the option of life imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, in addition to corporal punishment.
In a 2019 statutory declaration, Azilah claimed that the order to kill Altantuya came from Najib Razak, the then deputy prime minister, and Abdul Razak Baginda, a defense analyst close to Najib. Azilah alleged that Najib had accused Altantuya of being a foreign spy and ordered her death. However, Najib, who is serving a prison sentence for his involvement in the 1MDB corruption scandal, has denied these allegations.
Azilah and his co-accused, Sirul Azhar Umar, were initially acquitted in 2013 by the Court of Appeal, but the Federal Court overturned this ruling in 2015, reinstating their death sentences. Sirul fled to Australia, where he was detained in 2018, but Malaysia’s efforts to extradite him have been complicated by Australia’s opposition to deporting individuals facing the death penalty.
In 2023, Sirul was released from detention, and in a televised interview, he claimed that Azilah had informed him that the murder was a “special operation for Najib.”
While the case continues to stir controversy, including fresh debates on Malaysia’s death penalty laws, Najib’s lawyers maintain that he had no role in Altantuya’s murder, a position affirmed by the relevant authorities