Bloggers go to jail...

A blogger goes to jail in Malaysia.

Elsewhere, more and more bloggers and social media practitioners faced similar action for their 'irresponsible postings' on the Internet.

In Putrajaya today, blogger Amizudin Ahmat was sent to prison to serve a three-month jail term for contempt of court over contemptuous articles against former information communication and culture minister Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim.

This is because he failed to obtain leave from the Federal Court here to appeal against the High Court decision which had found him to be in contempt for further publishing defamatory articles on Rais and had sentenced him to three months' jail.

A five-member panel chaired by Federal Court judge Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop issued the committal warrant against Amizudin, 44, after rejecting his application for leave to appeal.
He said Amizudin could not get the leave as the legal questions posed by him did not meet the threshold requirement under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
An applicant in civil cases must first obtain leave (permission) from the Federal Court in order to bring their appeal to the Federal Court which is the Apex Court.
Ahmad ordered Amizudin to serve the jail term from today.
As soon as the court stood down, Amizudin was handcuffed by a policeman stationed in the courtroom.
It was a sombre atmosphere for Amizudin, his family and supporters who were present in court. Amizudin and his family members were seen wiping tears.
Before Amizudin was sent to the police lock-up, he waved and said to his family members and supporters, "Assalamualaikum, we will go on fighting."

On Nov 21, 2011, Rais, 72, was granted leave to commence committal proceedings against Amizudin, in relation to a civil suit filed by him. Rais won his defamation suit at the high court which had on July 19, 2011, ordered Amizudin to pay RM300,000 in damages and RM100,000 in costs to the then minister.

He filed the suit on Jan 31, 2011, against Amizudin for defamation over an article posted on the latter's blogsite, sharpshooterblogger.blogspot.com, on or about Dec 28, 2010.

The Court of Appeal had later upheld the high court's decision to award Rais RM300,000 in damages but reduced the costs from RM100,000 to RM50,000.

In HANOI, A Vietnamese appeal court on Friday (Dec 12) upheld jail sentences against three activists who were convicted for "public disorder" offences earlier this year following short trials that generated widespread criticism.

Bui Thi Minh Hang, a high-profile anti-China activist and the most prominent of the three, was imprisoned for three years in August following a one-day trial marked by strict security including the detention of scores of supporters.
Hang, 50, was convicted alongside Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, 28, and Nguyen Van Minh, 34, after they were arrested in February while trying to visit a former political prisoner who lives in Dong Thap province in the southern Mekong Delta region.

The trio's sentences were upheld following a half-day appeal trial in the province on Friday. "All defendants did not admit their crimes. So the appeal court upheld their sentences," lawyer Tran Thu Nam told AFP.

Social media reports, which could not immediately be verified, said almost 20 activists were taken into custody by security forces as they tried to demonstrate outside the courthouse.

In TUNISIA, a blogger has been imprisoned after the Tunis military court sentenced him to a three-year term for "defaming the army" and "insulting military high command" through Facebook posts.

Authorities arrested Yassine Ayari upon his arrival at Tunis-Carthage airport from France on December 24, 2014. On December 25, he appeared before a military judge who informed him that a military court had convicted him in absentia on November 18. In another trial on November 18, the same military court sentenced in absentia Sahbi Jouini, a police union leader, to two years in prison under the same article of the military justice code concerning defamation.

"In a single day, Tunisia's military court imposed prison sentences on a union leader and a blogger for speech offenses, even though neither was present for his trial," said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This is not worthy of the new Tunisia."

IN KENYA, a blogger has been sentenced to jail time for insulting President Uhuru Kenyatta on Facebook.

The 25-year-old blogger, Alan Wadi Okenga, also known as lieutenant Wadi, was convicted of hate speech for posts he allegedly made about Kenyatta's ethnic group.
Wadi was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of $2,200 after reportedly pleading guilty to the charges. If he chooses not pay the fine, he will face another year in jail.

Whatever it is, bloggers and even journalists must be accountable to anything they write and post. They must be responsible for what they do, and no law indicates they are free from prosecution should they 'cross the line'.

We have seen some court cases involving bloggers, and most of them lost on grounds of libel, sedition and lies!