Popular reformasi website Free Anwar Campaign (FAC) has been closed down by its web host apparently over complaints that the site contained "inflammatory" material.

FAC webmaster Raja Petra Kamarudin said the website has been shut down by its UK-based host Easyspace without notice since Dec 11.

The website (www.freeanwar.com) has been serving as the international lobby network for former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim since July 2000.

Anwar is presently serving a nine-year jail term for sodomy. Earlier this year, he completed serving a six-year sentence for corruption. Appeals against his convictions are now pending before several courts.

"We don't know why yet other than there has been a complaint received by our host that our website is 'inflammatory'.

Shifting to new host

"We have appealed against the decision but we have yet to receive word from them. They did not identify any particular item which they thought was 'inflammatory'," he said when contacted.

Raja Petra said that unless the appeal is successful, he would have no choice but to migrate the website to a new host server.

"The problem with this though is, not only will it take a long time to shift considering the thousand of pages and photographs that we have, but also that many of the files are missing.

"At the very least, we hope they will return all our files," he said adding that the website should be online again within the next few days.

The webmaster also said that early back-ups of the website had been lost after his computer was confiscated by the police in 2001.

Raja Petra was among a group of reformasi activists detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in March 2001. He was subsequently released within the first 60 days of detention after police completed their investigations.

Six other reformasi activists went on to serve two years detention orders at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak before being released in June this year.