Letter from Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council to the Government of Malaysia seeking clarification on use of Sedition Act

The letter, from 3 Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to the Government of Malaysia concerns the arrest, detention, and charge under the Sedition Act 1948 brought against Eric Paulsen on 5 February 2015 and the arrest and detention of Zunar under the same act (Zunar was subsequently charged with nine counts of Sedition on 3 April 2015).

The letter is dated 25 February 2015 and also seeks to clarify the position of Malaysia with regard to its obligations under articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its commitment to repeal the Sedition Act made at the Universal Periodic Review, a mechanism of the UNHRC.

To date, there has been no response from the Government of Malaysia.

The letter can be viewed at the following link:

Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders