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Imprisoned
May 6
Nasiruddin Ali, Karya One, IMPRISONED
Nasiruddin, a director of the publishing firm Karya One, which published four magazines linked to the banned Islamic movement al-Arqam--Tatih, O.K!, Ayu, and Dunia Baru--was arrested and imprisoned, at the Kemunting Detention Center in Perak. The magazines were suspended on June 4. Authorities detained Ali for the 60-day period allowed under section 73(1) of the Internal Security Act (ISA), then on July 7 invoked section 8 of the ISA, which allows up to two years' imprisonment without trial. The charges against Nasiruddin have not been made public. However, the pro-government daily New Straits Times reported in May that Nasiruddin had been arrested along with three other Al-Arqam members for attempting to revive the activities of the sect, which the government banned in 1994 for allegedly deviating from true Islamic teachings.
November 9
Sonny Inbaraj, The Nation, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Roger Mitton, Asiaweek, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Catherine McGrath, Australian Broadcasting Corp., IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Mohamed Raslan, Night and Day, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Jaqueline Ann Surin, The Star, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Steve Gan, The Sun, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Premesh Chandran, The Sun, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Sheryll Stothard, The Sun,IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Sharaad Khuttan, Free-lancer, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Debbie Stothard, Free-lancer,IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Ten journalists--Inbaraj, a reporter for The Nation of Bangkok; Mitton, a Malaysia-based correspondent for Asiaweek; McGrath, a Singapore-based correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corp.; Raslan, a correspondent for Night and Day of Kuala Lumpur; Surin, a correspondent for The Star of Kuala Lumpur; Gan, Chandran, and Sheryll Stothard of Kuala Lumpur's The Sun; and free-lancers Khuttan and Debbie Stothard--were arrested and detained in Kuala Lumpur 27 hours or longer. They were charged under Section 27A(1c) of the Malaysian Police Act with illegal assembly and refusing to disperse. If convicted, they face a fine of 2,000-10,000 ringgits (US$800-US$4,000) and/or a one-year prison term. Police also arrested 48 local participants in the Second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor (APCET II), held in Kuala Lumpur. The arrests occurred after 200 members of the youth wing of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) stormed the conference room, destroying property and threatening conference participants. Before the conference Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Megat Junid Megat Ayob summoned senior local media officials to a closed-door meeting Nov. 6 and attempted to discourage them from covering APCET II. CPJ condemned the arrests and called on the government to drop all charges against the journalists.
For more information contact asiaweb@cpj.org