World Challenges for the XXIst century

Rebel blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has vowed to die in silence as a sign of protest if he is re-arrested on what many believe are politically motivated grounds. His pledge came as a court was due to rule whether he is to return to prison under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act (ISA),

Raja Petra, who has risen to prominence as a pro-opposition blogger, was arrested on 12 September after accusations lodged by several religious groups who claim that he offended Islam in an article published on 8 August.

He was released on 7 November last year but the government has appealed the court decision and a verdict is expected on Tuesday.

“I shall no longer open my mouth or utter one word during my detention. I shall maintain the silence of a mute person. I shall not sign any documents of the so many documents that they make you sign when under detention,” he said.

via Malaysia: Blogger vows to die in silence if re-arrested – Adnkronos Culture And Media.

RSF press release on the case:

He was appearing before the Shah Alam court under Section 4(1) of the 1948 Sedition Act after writing an article about the implication of leaders of the ruling party in the 2006 murder of a young Mongolian woman. He pleaded not guilty at the first hearing of the case.

“The government is abusing the law in order to silence critical voices and to gag free expression,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said.

Raja Petra Kamarudin is being hounded by the courts and could end up serving a very long prison sentence. It is an unacceptable criminalisation of the freedom to reveal facts and opinions”, it said.

He wrote an article in which he accused the Malaysian PM of killing a woman. So he is accused by some religious groups of insulting Islam. And the Government is prosecuting him on sedition charges. (

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 12:28 pm and is filed under blogosphere, Islamism, Islamization, Religion, Society.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.