Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli was arrested as a deterrent to others, believed Amnesty International Malaysia's executive director Shamini Darshni.

Rafizi was unexpectedly picked up by the police yesterday outside the gates of Parliament under the Official Secrets Act.

Shortly after, he was brought on a 'tour' - to PKR headquarters, his house and service centre - to seize laptops and documents, pointed out Shamini. Also, for the first few hours of Rafizi being held, he was denied legal representation, she added.

She brought up the cases of activist Shukri Kamarudin and Amanah Youth vice-chief Shazni Munir, also arrested under the Sedition Act.

"It seems to be a concerted effort to clamp down on basic rights by making examples of these individuals, by arresting them and seizing their laptops and handphones," she told a press conference in Petaling Jaya, Selangor today.

The PKR secretary general was featured in an Amnesty report, 'Critical Crackdown: Freedom of Expression Under Attack in Malaysia', as he has been arrested and rearrested five times under different laws.

"Now it's six. Unfortunately,"she said.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had said leaking official secrets was a serious crime and in some countries such as China, it could result in the death penalty.

For this, Shamini merely replied: "China is not the standard when it comes to human rights."

Rafizi was detained under Section 8 of the OSA yesterday after revealing classified documents regarding the Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT).

He was arrested as he was leaving Parliament to pick up his son from the babysitter.

Hours later Opposition MPs and supporters gathered outside Bukit Aman to protest the arrest.