A Malaysian court today charged a student activist with sedition after he called for a street rally to protest alleged fraud in national elections earlier this month.
Prime Minister Najib Razak's Barisan Nasional coalition won the May 5 election, extending its 56-year reign, but the opposition has alleged fraud marred the polls and cost them victory.
Adam Adli Halim was charged under the Sedition Act over a statement made at a public post-election forum on May 13, and held in custody for five days until Thursday, his lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said.
The 24-year-old is accused of calling on people to protest the election results, Fadiah said. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a penalty of up to three years in jail.
Fadiah slammed the use of the Sedition Act, which Najib pledged to repeal last year as part of a much-touted reform drive to allow for more civil liberties, after criticism of its use mounted.
"It's clearly still being used to stifle dissent," Fadiah told AFP. "The law is open to abuse... It's an infringement to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly."
London-based human rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday called for the student's "immediate and unconditional" release following his arrest last Saturday.
"The Malaysian authorities must ensure that peaceful political dissent is protected both in law and practice," it said in a statement.
Malaysian activists and the opposition have dismissed Najib's moves to amend a slew of security laws to guarantee greater civil liberties as window-dressing to appease voters.
Police said earlier this month they may pursue sedition charges against speakers at a May 8 mass stadium rally organised by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to kick off nationwide protests against the alleged poll fraud.
The opposition claims the voter rolls used in May 5 national polls were full of irregularities, such as huge numbers of voters registered in closely fought constituencies, allegedly to sway the results in favour of Barisan.
The government has denied the elections were unfair.
Barisan won 133 of 222 parliamentary seats, seven seats fewer than they won in the previous polls in 2008 but holding on to a comfortable majority. But they only gained 46.6 percent of the popular vote.
