The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), the National Human Rights Society (HAKAM), and Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) are gravely concerned at the continued invoking of laws aimed at criminalizing expression such as those creating the offences of sedition and criminal defamation as illustrated by the arrest of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin for these offences.
On July 17, police arrested Raja Petra at the Police Contingent Headquarter in the capital city and charged him with criminal defamation, when Raja Petra availed himself to give statements on his statutory declaration linking the deputy prime minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor and two army personnels with the murder of a Mongolian national Altantuya Sharibuu. Raja Petra, who had earlier written about the issue as well as the alleged involvement of the deputy prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak, in his blog, malaysia-today.net, was charged on May 6 under the Sedition Act. He refused to post bail and was taken to the Sungai Buloh jail for three days. He is scheduled to go on trial for this charge on October 6.
We believe that such offences are not consistent with the guarantee of free expression entrenched in the Federal Constitution. Free expression is a cornerstone of any democracy and space must be maintained for it. Though the legislating of laws aimed at preserving public order and security is permitted by the Federal Constitution, the offences of criminal defamation and sedition are not necessary to achieve these aims. There are laws in place, such as those aimed at deterring incitement and hate speech, that sufficiently serve this purpose. There are also laws that allow persons whose reputations are injured to seek compensation through civil proceedings.
We call on the Government and the authorities to desist from relying on those laws that criminalize expression and to take steps towards repealing the same in fulfillment of its commitment to international human rights norms. We also call on the authorities to immediately release Raja Petra and to drop charges for sedition and criminal defamation against him.
Ends
Issued by
Gayathry Venkiteswaran
Executive Director, CIJ
Malik Imtiaz Sarwar
President, HAKAM
Wong Chin Huat
Chair, WAMI
For more information please contact Wai Fong at 03 4023 0772
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