Lawyer and prominent indigenous rights activist Nicholas Mujah was among the seven arrested today for allegedly causing fire to a timber camp in Sebuyau, Sarawak.

Mujah's arrest alongside two others comes after that of four other villagers for the same alleged offence last night.

All seven are expected to be detained at the Simunjan police station over the weekend.

lundu native arson case 071207 nicholas mujah "Mujah ( right ) and the two villagers were summoned to the police station at around 1 this afternoon and were accompanied by about 200 other villagers," said Borneo Resources Institue executive director Mark Bujang.

Besides the lawyer, the others arrested are longhouse chiefs Philip Bakat, Neli Nimpang, Sadun Atun and villagers Bawi Atman and Numpang Suntai.

Four days ago a fire destroyed the workers quarters and other properties belonging to Royal Billion Sdn Bhd, a logging contractor of Quality Concrete Holdings.

Quality Concrete said to be partly-owned and directed by Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmu's sister, Raziah possess a Forestry Department licence for logging in a disputed 3,305ha of forests.

In their claim, the residents of six Iban longhouses note that the land was gazetted as native customary land in 1956.

According to Bujang, Mujah is currently assisting the villagers in their dispute against Quality Concrete Holdings.

The villagers had on Monday erected a blockade to prevent Quality Concrete's contractor Royal Billion from extracting timber from the area.