Sedition Act 2015: Who Have Been Arrested, Investigated, And Charged So Far?

Who: Wan Mohd Azri Wan Deris aka Papagomo.

Why: He was arrested for spreading false news on social media that led to a riot outside Plaza Low Yat.

How: The arrest was made at his home in Kuala Lumpur.

What: He was arrested under the sedition act.

Who: Mohd Ali Baharomn aka 'Ali Tinju', 43

Why: He was arrested for his racially-charged speech in Plaza Low Yat in connection with the fracas over a stolen phone.

How: Police confirmed his arrest was done in Bukit Aman.

What: He is arrested under the Sedition Act.

Who: PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli, 37.

Why: His detention is allegedly over a statement he issued calling for full turnout at a #KitaLawan rally.

How: He was arrested at his service centre in Kuala Lumpur.

What: He is arrested under the Sedition Act.

Who: PAS Deputy President Mohamad Sabu, 60.

Why: It is believed his arrest is in connection with his involvement with #KitaLawan rallies in Kuala Lumpur.

How: At 12.20am on 28 March, Mat Sabu was detained by about 10 armed and masked policemen believed to be from Bukit Aman, at the Seven Star restaurant in Sungai Dua on the mainland of Penang. On 29 March, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu was released from police custody. Kuala Lumpur CID chief SAC Zainuddin Ahmad confirmed the matter and informed that Mat Sabu was released at 11pm.

What: It is believed he could have arrested under the Sedition Act.

Who: Tony Pua, DAP national publicity secretary.

Why: He posted "Bastards. Real bastards. Royal my foot," on Twitter after Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar was arrested overnight by the police for investigations. It was thought to be an insult to the Malay rulers by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

How: On 23 March, at about 1pm, he reported at the Bukit Aman police headquarters, accompanied by Gobind and fellow DAP lawmakers Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and Kulai MP Teo Nie Cheng took his statement.

What: He was arrested under the Sedition Act 1948. Police officers had confiscated his computer.

Who: S. Arutchelvan, secretary-general of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

Why: He was arrested for questioning the judgement of the Federal Court on Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction and jail sentence.

How: On 19 February at 7pm, about 10 policemen arrested Arutchelvan at his home in Kajang.

What: He was arrested under the Sedition Act 1948. Police officers from the Dang Wangi station had confiscated his computer, modem and mobile phone.

Who: Activist Lawrence Jayaraj, a cartoonist and the father of the Form three student who was barred in January from entering class for wearing a baju kurung to school.

Why: Arrested for allegedly mocking the judges of the Federal Court by calling them donkeys earlier this month through a Facebook posting on the verdict of Anwar's sodomy charge.

How: On 20 February, he was picked up at his home in Cheras at 6.45pm and taken to the Dang Wangi police station.

What: He was detained under Section 4(1) C of the Sedition Act.

Who:
1. Lionel Morais, The Malaysian Insider (TMI) managing editor
2. Zulkifli Sulong, TMI features and analysis editor
3. Amin Iskandar, TMI bahasa news editor
4. Jahabar Sadiq, TMI chief executive
5. Ho Kay Tat, The Edge publisher

Why: On 25 March 2015, TMI published a report stating that the Conference of Rulers had rejected proposed amendments to the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 that would allow hudud to be enforced in Kelantan. Alleged sources quote the rejection of the amendments to the Federal Act were made at a meeting which was attended by all Malay rulers or their representatives. However on 26 March, it was reported that the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal Datuk Seri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad denied issuing any statement on hudud in Kelantan and had lodged a police report against TMI .

How: Lionel, Zulkifli and Amin were arrested at 5.52pm on 30 March by about a dozen officers from the police, as well as the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), in TMI's office at Mutiara Damansara. The other two, Jahabar and Ho were arrested in the morning of 31 March, at the Dang Wangi police station when they turned up for their statements to be taken.
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What: They were charged under Section 4 of the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 which deals with “improper use of network facilities or network services”. Police said they would apply for a remand order for all five journalists.

Who: Activists Azrie Situ, 25, Jemmy Liku Markus Situ, 32, Erick Jack William, 29, and Joseph Kolis, 29, who are said to be activists with Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM).

Why: On 1 February 2015, the four men were arrested for possessing pamphlets urging Sabah and Sarawak to leave Malaysia. They had reportedly distributed these allegedly seditious content and held a petition on Sabah's rights, which was allegedly linked to the Facebook page 'Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia'.

Erick allegedly had 91 pieces of the pamphlets, Joseph 13 pieces, Azrie five pieces and Jemmy one piece.

How: The four men were caught red-handed in physical possession of the publication at 9.50am, on 1 February 2015 at the weekly Tamu in Tuaran. They have pleaded not guilty to the Sessions Court and have been released on bail.

What: They were charged under Section 4(2) of the Sedition Act which carries a fine of up to RM2,000 or a jail term of up to 18 months, or both, on conviction. The offending publication is to be seized and destroyed.

Who: Nurul Izzah Anwar, Lembah Pantai MP and PKR vice-president.

How: Nuzul Izzah went to the Dang Wangi police station at 3.30pm on 16 March to give her statement on the #KitaLawan rally under the Peaceful Assembly Act as summoned by the authorities when she was taken into custody for sedition.

Why: She is being investigated over a speech made in Parliament where she criticised the judiciary over the Federal Court's decision to find her father, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim guilty of sodomy.

What: She is being held under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act.

Who: Wan Khairul Ihsan Wan Muhammad, 39.

Why: Wah Khairul had posted two tweets on 4 February 2015 calling for a Malay uprising against the Chinese. The first tweet read "Oh cursed Chinese…The time has come for the Malays to rise to fight you… Allah is Great… to cleanse your Chinese blood!!!".

The second tweet read "To all the Chinese with Datukships from the Sultans, return your titles because the Sultans are Malays. Let’s start a May 13 riot against the Chinese… God is Great!!!"

How: MCA Youth lodged a police report on Tuesday, 10 March 2015, over the tweet. The next day, police arrested Wan Khairul Ihsan at Jalan Raja Laut in Kuala Lumpur. Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Ti Lian Ker said "one cannot help but link his twitter postings with images of IS’ evil of blood, torture and gore”.

What: He is arrested under Section 4(1)C of the Sedition Act 1948.

Who: Zulkiflee Anwar Alhaque or better known as Zunar, is a political cartoonist who is familiar with getting in trouble with the government. His criticisms of the government and political issues in his cartoons has also gotten him arrested for sedition, his office raided, his books banned and confiscated.

Why: On 10 Feb 2015, Zunar posted on Twitter about Anwar's sodomy verdict. Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had police officers locate and arrest Zunar for the mere mention of the judiciary and “political masters” in his tweet.

How: Five police officers showed up at Zunar's residence at around 9pm on 10 February 2015. He was arrested and brought to the Dang Wangi police station. The police secured a three-day remand order.

What: Zunar is being investigated under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948.

UPDATED: On 3 April, cartoonist Zunar claim trial to nine charges of sedition. The charge proceeded at the Kuala Lumpur High Court under Section 4(1)C of the Sedition Act which carries the maximum penalty of three years in jail or a RM5,000 fine. It was broken up into three sets of three charges each, to reflect that the tweets were treated as separate transactions. He fixed bail at RM2,500 for each charge. Zulkiflee's bail for all charges would be RM22,500, with one surety. The court set May 20 for the next mention.

After posting his bail, he was rearrested on the same day at the Duta Court Complex and taken to the police station. He was questioned over a picture posted on a Facebook fan page, The Zunar Kartunis Fan Club, which depicted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s face photoshopped onto someone in a purple prison jumpsuit. Zunar was being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of a network service. He was held for about four hours and released at 5pm.

Who: Eric Paulsen, co-founder and executive director of Lawyers for Liberty, a human rights and law reform organisation.

Why: On 9 January 2015, Eric Paulsen posted on Twitter insinuating Jakim's Friday sermons are endorsing extremism. Although he meant to refer to Jakim as a government agency, it was misconstrued as an insult to Islam and deemed as seditious.

How: On a Monday night on 12 January 2015, Eric Paulsen was picked up by over 20 police officers in Brickfields and brought to the Dang Wangi police station. He was held on remand for two days and released on bail on 14 January 2015, and subsequently charged with sedition on 5 February 2015.

What: Eric Paulsen pleaded not guilty under the charge of Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948. If found guilty, Paulsen stands to face a jail term up to three years, or a fine of RM5,000 or both for a first-time offender.

UPDATED: On 22 March, he was detained again on Sunday evening over two tweets concerning hudud law he posted earlier in the day. In his tweets, Paulsen alleged hudud did not have a place in modern society as it was inhumane, and that it was unfair to women. It was investigated under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 for allegedly accusing the Malaysian Islamic Development Department of promoting extremism. He was arrested at Dataran Underground at around 4.50 after attending an art event. He was released on 23 March on police bail.