A Malaysian court sentenced student democracy activist Adam Adli to a year in jail on Friday after finding him guilty of sedition.
Mr. Adam was charged in 2013 after making several statements at a political meeting following national elections, including one in which he urged people “go down to the streets to seize back our power.”
“Guilty,” Mr. Adam tweeted from the courtroom. “Having a different opinion is apparently a crime now according to our dearest prosecutor.”
Mr. Adam was freed on bail pending appeal to a higher court.
Human Rights Watch said Malaysia’s ruling party was “showing the kind of authoritarian tendencies one usually associates with single-party rule rather than democracy.”
“More than anything, this conviction shows the incredible danger posed by the Sedition Act, which is so vague that it can be used by the government to criminalise any sort of speech it deems offensive,” said its Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson.
