Walk With RPK !

Malaysiakini: Malaysia Today news portal webmaster Raja Petra Kamaruddin was today charged with sedition at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court over an article which he wrote in his website.

The article allegedly implied that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife were involved in the killing of a young Mongolian woman.

Raja Petra claimed trial to the charge. He was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for publishing seditious article on April 25 on Malaysia Today.

Hearing has been fixed from Oct 6 to 10 and Raja Petra was granted a bail of RM5,000, which he refused to post, deciding instead to remain in custody until the hearing date.

If found guilty, Raja Petra could be jailed for a maximum of three years and/or face a fine of up to RM5,000.

The chargesheet also highlighted nine paragraphs of the article which was titled "Let's send the Altantuya murderers to hell" as seditious.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nordin Hassan is prosecuting while Raja Petra was represented by a team of six lawyers led by Karpal Singh.

According to Malaysiakini:

RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN was charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for publishing seditious article on April 25 on Malaysia Today. If found guilty, Raja Petra could be jailed for a maximum of three years and/or face a fine of up to RM5,000. The chargesheet also highlighted nine paragraphs of the article as seditious. Deputy Public Prosecutor Nordin Hassan is prosecuting while Raja Petra was represented by a team of six lawyers led by Karpal Singh.

News about Raja Petra’s case spread like a wild fire last night and this morning a large crowd had gathered at the court complex to show support for him. Also present were DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang and Ronnie Liu as well as Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

CIJ and WAMI questions Sedition Acts used against blogger, again

Friday, 02 May 2008

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) are concerned that the Sedition Act continues to be used to harass bloggers, contradicting the positive attitude that the government exhibited towards bloggers post election. The targetting of certain bloggers, in particular, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, under the broadly worded Sedition Act raises concern that the law is being used to silence critics.



On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the police searched the house of Raja Petra Kamaruddin and confiscated a CPU and laptop. The blogger was later summoned to the police station to record his statement about his posting on 25 April under the title "Let's send Altantuya Murderers to Hell", linking the murder of the Mongolian woman with deputy prime minister Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor. Raja Petra was summoned soon after Najib Razak and wife both issued a public denial of their involvement in the murder.

When contacted, DSP Victor Sanjos, who led the team to Raja Petra's house said, a police report was made by the Investigating Officer in the murder case.
CIJ and WAMI are concerned that the current legislative framework to control freedom of speech put bloggers who write about political issues and political personalities in a risky spot. Actions can be taken against them conveniently using the Sedition Act, which has been repeatedly used against bloggers whenever they tread on political controversy or when criticizing the government.

The action against Raja Petra also will fuel further speculation about the integrity of the judicial process in the Altantuya trial. Far from convincing the public that the case has been given a fair hearing, such actions only strengthen the people's suspicion of the judiciary and the executive. We believe that the judicial process must be allowed to run its full course but we also firmly believe that the use of the Sedition Act is being done to protect narrow political interests. In an environment where public perception of the police is also very low, police action against individuals like a blogger only show to the public that the force is also heavily influenced by political leaders.

In the spirit of the coming World Press Freedom Day, we urge the government and the police to recognize the rights of the people to freedom of expression. We call upon the police to stop harassing bloggers and the government to repeal the Sedition Act.

The Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia (CIJ) aspires for a society that is democratic, just and free, where all people enjoy free media and the freedom to express, seek, and impart information.

Ends

Issued by

Gayathry Venkiteswaran
Executive Director, CIJ

and
Wong Chin Huat
Chair, WAMI

For more information, please contact Wai Fong at 03 40230772

(Source)


Walk With RPK : One Ringgit One Person

Latest Update :

updates 16:16 - Account statement made by RPK's wife on the donation as at 4pm today

From CIMB bank account : RM24,500.00
From Paypal account : $3,283.61 USD (net total, after deduction of fee charges by Paypal services)

Message from RPK's wife and family:

Only RM5,000.00 is needed to bail out RPK. The remaining balance will be given to charitable home of RPK's choice. We would like to thank you all for your tremendous supports.



Message from MT's Team: 5.30pm 6th May 2008

We would like to CALL OFF the donation campaign as we already collected enough fund to at least bail out our dearest YM RPK. It is the matter of RPK principle, and collecting excess wouldn't be appreciated by him. As stated aerlier, all excess will be given to charitable home/center, and RPK or his family will make known of the statement from time to time. Thank you MALAYSIAN for supporting MALAYSIA TODAY!

"ONE RINGGIT ONE PERSON" RPK's court bail donation can be deposit into this account:

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Bank: XXXX

Account No.: xxxx xxxx xxxx xx

Account Name Holder: Xxxxxxxxxxx

notes: the account number supplied by RPK's wife and she knows Mr.Visva well

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Updates 1730: CALL OFF donation campaign


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