Lawyers for liberty questioned why no such prosecution on Ibrahim Ali and Jamal Yunos
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| Lawyers for Liberty director Eric Paulsen says no one in this day and age should be prosecuted for a mere comment without any element of incitement to violence or serious hate speech. |
A human rights group described today the imprisonment
sentence on Vivian Lee for sedition as harsh, noting that no action was taken
against others for considerably more racially charged speeches.
Lawyers for Liberty director Eric Paulsen said if the courts
found punishment was warranted with Lee's mock invitation on Facebook for
Muslims to break fast with “bak kut teh”, then Malay rights advocates like
#Merah169 leader Datuk Jamal Md Yunos or Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali should
be prosecuted too.
“First and foremost, the Sedition Act should be abolished.
No one in this day and age should be prosecuted for a mere comment without any
element of incitement to violence or serious hate speech,” Paulsen told Malay
Mail Online.
“Certainly the prosecution policies could have been more
even handed, but we do not see the likes of Ibrahim Ali, Jamal Yunos, Ali Tinju
etc prosecuted for much more serious speeches,” he added.
Both Jamal Yunos and Ibrahim Ali had allegedly issued threats against
the Chinese community. The former had led a rally critics said were ostensibly
intended to intimidate minority communities, while the latter had suggested the
torching of Christian bibles that contained the Arabic word Allah.
There were initially investigated by the police, but no
action was taken against them.
Ali Tinju, whose real name is Mohd Ali Baharom, was charged
with sedition for allegedly making a racially charged speech prior to the riots
outside Low Yat Plaza last July, but his charges were later dropped on grounds
of lack of evidence.
Earlier today, the Sessions Court here sentenced Lee, 27, to
six months in prison after she was convicted of sedition over a mock greeting
featuring the “bak kut teh” pork dish during the Muslim fasting month.
Paulsen described the sentence as excessive and argued that
Lee should not be criminalised over a comment, no matter how offensive it may
be.
“On the sentence, a custodial sentence seems excessive as
the posting, however distasteful, is not really criminal in nature”.
Sessions Court judge Abdul Rashid Daud, in justifying the
sentence, said the matter involved the sensitivities of the Muslim community
and he was seeking a deterrent with the prison term.
Lee is appealing the sentence and the Sessions Court agreed
to allow a stay. But it increased the bail from RM10,000 to RM20,000 and ruled
that her passport remain in the court’s possession.
The picture of Lee together with then boyfriend Alvin Tan
Jye Yee, which was posted on Facebook on July 11, 2013, carried the words
“Selamat Berbuka Puasa (with Bak Kut Teh...fragrant, delicious and appetising)”
and the halal logo.
Source -malaymalionline
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