Charges Against Irwan Abdul Rahman Dropped

Regional media sources are reporting that charges facing cartoonist and blogger Irwan Abdul Rahman for a satirical blog post last Fall have been discharged after the accused man's counsel asked that they be dropped.

Irwan -- also a prominent newspaper editor in Malaysia -- was cited last Fall for an Onion-like post about the nation's largest utility published in March 2010 called "TNB to sue WWF over earth hour." A complaint was filed by Tenaga Nasional Bhd corporate communications manager Ismail Abd Rahman on April 2, suggesting this was a malicious action. Irwan removed the post and apologized later that month. The case had been scheduled for a hearing November 24 but I believe that was either moved, or a subsequent hearing scheduled, for late February. It is believed that in petitioning the prosecutor's office, Irwan's representatives noted that there is an exception for satire in Malaysian law concerning such matters.

Irwan thanked the court and the agency that bailed him out after his arrest, vowing to continue his satirical ways but to be more careful in doing so.
 
posted 8:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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