Malaysia 'dissent' blogger jailed

by Sanjay Jha | September 23, 2008 at 12:22 am

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One of the very prominent Malaysian blogger Raja Petra has been arrested and sent to a detention centre in the state of Perak by order of Malaysia's home minister. Raja Petra was one of three critics of the government arrested in what the opposition said was a sign of panic by the embattled administration of Abdullah Badawi. The detention is likely to lead to further criticism of the Malaysian government, both domestically and internationally.

A prominent anti-government blogger in Malaysia has been detained for two years on charges of insulting Islam.
Raja Petra Kamarudin has been held without trial under controversial internal security laws which could see him detained indefinitely.
He was arrested on 12 September as part of a crackdown on dissent by the Malaysian government which is facing a mounting political crisis.
His lawyer said the order was "a big blow to the idea of civil liberties".
The BBC's Robin Brant in Kuala Lumpur said Raja Petra has been a thorn in the side of the Malaysian government, using his blog to become one of its most vociferous critic.
Raja Petra was arrested 10 days ago and accused of insulting Islam and inciting racial tensions through an article he published on the Malaysia Today website.
But the arrest came shortly after he used his blog to accuse Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Razak, of involvement in the 2007 murder of a Mongolian woman - a charge Mr Razak strongly denies.