# Malaysian court rules state and police were responsible for two enforced disappearances
A Malaysian High Court on November 5, 2025 ruled that the government and police were responsible for the enforced disappearances of pastor Raymond Koh and activist Amri Che Mat, ordering investigators to reopen the cases and awarding substantial damages to their families. The judgment is being described as a landmark because it is the first judicial recognition of enforced disappearance by Malaysian authorities in the cases.
The AP report says Koh was seized in broad daylight in February 2017 by masked men in a military-style operation captured on CCTV. His whereabouts remain unknown. Amri disappeared months earlier, in November 2016, after leaving home. Both cases had long fuelled questions about whether state agencies were involved.
The court awarded more than 30 million ringgit, or about $7.2 million, to Koh’s wife Susanna Liew and 3 million ringgit, or about $717,000, to Amri’s wife Noorhayati Mohamad Ariffin. It also ordered police to reopen investigations, a move the families and rights groups said was essential even if it could not answer every question about what happened.
The ruling matters because Malaysian authorities have denied involvement for years despite earlier findings by the national human rights commission and a special government task force that a police special branch was behind the disappearances. According to the AP report, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said it would appeal, so the legal fight is not over.
For the families, the ruling was both vindication and unfinished business. Liew called it a historic and emotional milestone and said it confirmed what she had believed for years. Noorhayati said she still wanted to know whether her husband was alive or dead. Their responses show how disappearance cases can produce partial accountability without delivering full truth.
The AP report also notes the broader religious and political tension around the cases. Koh, a Christian pastor, had reportedly received death threats and was under investigation for alleged proselytising. Amri, a Muslim activist, had been watched by religious authorities over alleged Shiite teachings. The disappearances therefore touched on Malaysia’s sensitive intersection of religion, state power and civil liberties.
The significance of the ruling extends beyond the two men. A court has now said that state actors were involved and that the investigations must continue. For families, activists and rights groups, that creates a precedent that may shape future disappearance cases in Malaysia, even if appeals could delay final accountability.
IO Digest Desk
