Activist Ali seeking asylum abroad, family supports decision

Young activist Ali Abd Jalil, facing prosecution for sedition, is abroad and seeking political asylum in a foreign country. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 25, 2014.Young activist Ali Abd Jalil, who is facing prosecution for sedition, is now abroad and in the process of seeking political asylum in a foreign country.

His sister Asiah Abdul Jalil confirmed this latest development today, but refused to disclose the country he was in, citing security reasons.

The Malaysian Insider, however, was made to understand that Ali is currently in Sweden.

Asiah said her brother did not inform his family on his plan to leave the country and they only found out about it after he had arrived there on Tuesday.

"We did not know. We are also shocked," she said.

Ali spent more than 20 days in police custody last month after being arrested and taken to three states where reports were lodged against him for allegedly posting seditious material on the social media.

Ali faces three sedition charges for allegedly insulting the Johor royalty and the Sultan of Selangor in his Facebook postings.

He has been accused of posting seditious remarks on a Facebook page called "Kapitalis Bangsat" that allegedly belittled the Johor sultanate.

Ali was first detained on September 8 and has since been in police custody in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor until he was finally released on September 29.

Asiah told The Malaysian Insider that an international human rights body had assisted Ali in his bid to leave Malaysia, but did not state specifically which one it was.

"Ali had succeeded in obtaining a visa. We hear the magistrate in that country has approved it.

"Now, he is in the midst of applying for asylum in that country, but he needs to go through a few processes, including confirmation that he is a Malaysian citizen and the kind of threats he is facing," she added.

Asiah also said that her family supported Ali's decision given that there was no certainty that he was would be safe if he were to remain in the country.

"He is facing a lot of threats and pressures here. There were death threats.

"We have lodged a police report but we fear that no action will be taken on it," she added.

The Malaysian Insider received an email early this morning indicating that Ali had arrived safely in Stockholm, Sweden, leaving the country through the Malaysian-Thailand border.

Ali's ordeal captured the attention of Amnesty International that later led him to be adopted as a Prisoner of Conscience (PoC).

The global human rights body said the move to ensure he does not suffer further punishment or selective prosecution.

It is reported that the body's outfit in Sweden is making arrangements for Ali to be given legal representation.

Amnesty International said it has also activated a rapid response mechanism at the international level to pressure Putrajaya to stop criminalising free speech and opinion, following the a series of prosecutions under the Sedition Act.

Another Malaysian, Alvin Tan, who is facing criminal charges under the Sedition Act as well as the Film Censorship Act for controversial online uploads, including a photo deemed insulting to Islam on Facebook, also left the country and seeked asylum in the United States.

- TMI