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Activist's 6-day remand to probe a tweet excessive, says NGO
Published:  Oct 10, 2015 5:18 PM
Updated: 9:44 AM

An anti-Sedition Act NGO has slammed the continued detention of activist Khalid Mohd Ismath over a Twitter posting, saying it is excessive and unnecessary.

"Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH) urges Khalid to be released immediately.

"The (total six day) remand [...] is not justified if the aim is merely to investigate one comment made in the social media.

"The police should not waste their time investigating this trivial matter, while crime that continues to rise by the day deserves most of their attention," said the group in a statement today.

Khalid was rearrested after his two-day remand starting Wednesday expired last night.

He was initially detained under the Communications and Multimedia Act, but the police today secured an additional four-day remand under the Sedition Act.

The activist was first detained at Johor Bahru Selatan police station on Wednesday under the Communications and Multimedia Act over comments he had allegedly made on Twitter on the detention of former Batu Kawan Umno deputy chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan and the latter's lawyer Matthias Chang.

Khairuddin and Chang are being detained over police reports made against the scandal-ridden 1MDB.

GHAH called on the government to stop using the "draconian" Sedition Act and for Prime Minister Najib Razak to keep his promise in 2012 to abolish the law.

The group demanded all those detained under the law should be released and it should not be retained under the guise of a new law.

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