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Archive for the ‘Malaysia’ Category

Malaysian authorities release detained anti-government blogger

Malaysian authorities today freed a blogger who edits an anti-government news website, after a court ruled his arrest under a law allowing indefinite detention was illegal.

Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s arrest in September for allegedly causing ethnic tensions sparked condemnation from the opposition and rights groups.

Today a high court judge ruled that Malaysia’s home minister acted outside his powers in using the Internal Security Act (ISA) to detain him.

Five hours later, a weary-looking Raja Petra, whose blog Malaysia Today has been a thorn in the side of the government, embraced his tearful wife and daughters outside the court in Shah Alam city, near Kuala Lumpur. He had been brought from a prison camp in the north of the country.

‘I’m really glad it’s over. I’m really tired. The judge’s decision proves there is no justification for my detention,’ Raja Petra, 58, told reporters.

‘This showed that the ISA cannot be used. I hope this is not a political decision.’

He has infuriated authorities by publishing numerous claims of alleged wrongdoing by government leaders on his popular site.

The government has denounced most of his allegations as lies and has accused Raja Petra of threatening public security and causing ethnic tension by publishing writings that ridiculed Islam in the Muslim-majority country.

He is also on trial in a separate case, accused of sedition by implying that deputy prime minister Najib Razak was involved in the murder of a Mongolian model and faces up to three years in jail if convicted.

Najib has strongly denied the blogger’s accusations, terming them ‘total lies’.

Raja Petra’s arrest was condemned by civic groups, lawyers and online commentators.

His lawyer, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, said the judge who ordered his client’s release said the grounds given for his detention were insufficient.

The ISA allows imprisonment without charge for an initial two-year period, with indefinite extensions possible.

The court order was ‘definitely a wonderful step in terms of civil liberties in Malaysia,’ Malik Imtiaz said.

But the ruling does not prevent the government from rearresting Raja Petra, and it can also appeal against the decision.

Some of Malaysia’s most popular blogs offer strong anti-government commentaries and present themselves as a substitute for mainstream media, which is controlled by political parties or closely linked to them.

Around 61 people are held under the colonial-era ISA. Critics say it is used randomly to silence government critics.

The government, facing its biggest challenge to its grip on power since independence in 1957, has recently come under strong pressure to abolish the ISA.

(Via Latest news, sport, business, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk.)

Malaysian Blogger Fights a System He Perfected: “Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia, is one of an increasing number of bloggers challenging government censorship and gaining influence in the political process.”

(Via NYT > Freedom of Speech and Expression.)

Arrested Malaysian Blogger Freed Following Public Outcry: “It’s hard to figure out what the government of Malaysia is thinking in its ongoing trouble in dealing with critical bloggers (some of whom were so powerful that they got elected). Last week, we noted that one of the more popular bloggers, whose blog had been ordered blocked by ISPs was arrested, just as the block on his blog was removed. Not surprisingly, the arrest led to a public outcry, and the government has now relented and freed the blogger, who quickly posted an anti-government rant on his blog, promising not to back down. The whole thing makes you wonder how tone deaf the leading party politicians in Malaysia are that they didn’t expect this to happen. Arresting an opposition blogger was bound to create further outcry, and this move only helped legitimize the points he’s been making. You would think that at least someone in the ruling party would have been savvy enough to recognize that this was inevitable.

(Via Techdirt.)

Supporters back arrested Malaysian blogger: “The arrest of a blogger who dared to criticise the Malaysian regime backfires as other bloggers express their solidarity”