Malaysian Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin Goes on Trial Over Sedition Charges

The trial of one of the most prominent anti-government bloggers in Malaysia, who faces charges of sedition, began today.

Raja Petra Kamarudin, who runs the popular Malaysia Today news website, is accused of implying that a government minister had some involvement in the murder of a Mongolian woman.

The British-born 58-year-old faces up to three years in jail if found guilty.

He is already being held at the Kamunting prison in central Malaysia on a separate case brought under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.

Raja Petra's supporters have accused the Malaysian government of misusing the judiciary to suppress freedom of speech.

"They are penalizing him twice ... it's double jeopardy. But his spirits are up," his wife, Marina, said.

The sedition charges stem from an article posted on April 25 and headlined: "Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell".

It allegedly suggested that the deputy prime minister, Najib Razak, and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, had some level of involvement in the 2006 killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian interpreter.

Both have denied any involvement.

On September 12, five months after being charged with sedition, Raja Petra was arrested under the Internal Security Act for publishing articles that the government claimed created racial tension in Malaysia.

During a break in the trial today, he told reporters he spent his time reading books in prison.

"I read and I dream of the day the government will be brought down and we abolish all draconian laws," he said.