Indian in Malaysia appeals conviction in sedition case

    By IANS,

    Singapore : An Indian-origin lawyer and Hindu rights activist in Malaysia has appealed the 30-month jail term given to him by a Kuala Lumpur court in a sedition case.

    P. Uthayakumar’s lawyer M. Manoharan said the appeal was filed at the court registry Friday, media reports said.

    A sessions court had June 5 sentenced 49-year-old P. Uthayakumar, founder of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), to 30 months in jail for writing a seditious letter to former British prime minister Gordon Brown.

    Judge Ahmad Zamzami Mohammad Zain had ruled that Uthayakumar could not offer reasonable doubt to defend himself.

    The case relates to a 2007 incident in which Uthayakumar was charged with publishing an allegedly seditious letter to Brown, dated Nov 15, 2007, on the Police Watch Malaysia website.

    He was charged Dec 11, 2007.