A Malaysian human rights lawyer was released on bail today after being arrested for a tweet claiming that a government-run Islamic body was spreading extremism during Friday sermons.
Federal Criminal Investigation Department Director Mohmad Salleh confirmed Eric Paulsen's release but did not give details.
Paulsen was released after police had recorded his statement at Dang Wangi police headquarters here today. He said the incident served as a lesson for him and he would definitely choose his words carefully in the future.
"The tweet uploaded was perceived differently by the public. People who know me would know I did not mean any harm when posting the tweet," he said.
He was arrested at a car park in Brickfields neighbourhood on Monday night.
Paulsen had come under fire in this Muslim majority multi-ethnic country over a tweet he posted that said - "Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim) is promoting extremism every Friday. Government needs to address that if serious about extremism in Malaysia".
Paulsen had said he had received threats which "are part of a malicious slander campaign accusing me of insulting Islam. These are false accusations. I only criticised Jakim, a government agency. I never referred to Islam in my tweet," he said.
After a backlash from netizens, Paulsen clarified that he did not mean to insult Islam when he accused Jakim of promoting extremism. The tweet has since been taken down.
