Amnesty International has adopted Malaysian activist Ali Abd Jalil as a Prisoner of Conscience (PoC) after Putrajaya went after him for sedition, saying it is part of a push to ensure he does not suffer further punishment or selective persecution.
Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Shamini Darshni said they were concerned about the injustices suffered by the young activist for merely voicing his opinions on social media, adding that his case warranted being thrust into the international spotlight.
The global human rights group has activated a rapid response mechanism at the international level to pressure Putrajaya to stop criminalising free speech and opinion, following the current escalation of investigation and prosecution of individuals under the Sedition Act.
"Ali Abdul Jalil is considered by Amnesty International as a Prisoner of Conscience because he voiced his opinions on social media and is being punished for it.
"We believe that a person must not be subjected to legal prosecution for saying what he or she thinks, especially when there is no call for violence,” she told The Malaysian Insider.
Amnesty International defines a PoC as “someone imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs”.
According to the organisation, PoC can also refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, colour, language, sexual orientation, belief, or lifestyle, so long as they have not used or advocated violence.
Ali, who is accused of posting seditious remarks on a Facebook page called "Kapitalis Bangsat" that allegedly belittled the Johor sultanate, was rearrested yesterday in Johor after 19 days in detention.
Last night, members of Amnesty International Malaysia gathered at a private event in Petaling Jaya to celebrate its 15th anniversary, where it also launched a petition to collect signatures calling for the abolishment of the Sedition Act.
It is also calling for all charges under the Act to be dropped, for the release of those charged and for the Act not to be replaced with a similarly repressive law which violates human rights.
The petition will be sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia.
Darshni added that allegations by Ali's family that he was beaten in custody reinforced the need to bring his case into the international spotlight.
"Amnesty International wants to ensure that he is not further abused in detention, has access to lawyers and his family, which has proven difficult so far although these are his rights," she said.
Amnesty International, she added, was also alarmed at the way the Sedition Act has been used recently, especially when it indicated selective persecution of individuals.
Darshni said that the colonial era law was being used against those who had a duty to speak within a professional capacity as well as against activists such as Ali.
She said keeping such a law in a democracy when society has evolved and the gaps in equality are closing in on each other did not augur well for a modern, moderate Malaysia.
"This is a pre-independence law, and that is where it belongs - in the past," she added.
Darshni also warned of the consequences if the nation continued down this road, and said that activists are not the government's enemies.
"In the spirit of development and nation-building, citizens of a country including civil society have a role to question, comment and rebuke when international human rights laws and standards are left by the wayside and colonial-era laws which punish citizen rights continue to prevail," she added.
Amnesty has enlisted the likes of law professor Dr Azmi Sharom, PKR vice-president N. Surendran and Ali as the faces of their international rapid response campaign against the Sedition Act.
Azmi, Surendran and several others, including politicians, journalists and preachers, have run afoul of the Sedition Act 1948 in recent weeks.
Putrajaya’s sedition blitz has been compared with the 1987 Ops Lalang, in which more than 100 opposition leaders and activists were detained under the Internal Security Act.
Those who want to sign the petition against the Sedition Act can visit amnesty.my. –TMI
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