Open letter to the Sultan of Malaysia about blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin

Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard wrote today to Sultan Mahmud Al-MuktafiBillah Shah, the king of Malaysia, asking him to intercede in the case of "RPK".

“Your Majesty,

Reporters Without Borders, an organisation that defends press freedom worldwide, would like to draw your attention to the case of Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a journalist also known as “RPK,” who is charged under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in connection with articles posted on his Malaysia Today blog (http://mt.m2day.org/2008/) and who now faces the possibility of being imprisoned again.

In the speech you gave today, you described the younger generation as Malaysia’s hope and future. RPK is a model of the free speech this generation should enjoy.

The way the federal court in Putrajaya is conducting RPK’s case is travesty of justice. The court’s impartiality is jeopardised by the fact that Augustine Paul, one of the three judges on the panel handling the case, issued a ruling against RPK in 2001 as a “threat to internal security.” RPK had posted comments online that lambasted the judge for his role in Anwar Ibrahim’s corruption trial – comments that were widely circulated on the Internet.

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