KUALA LUMPUR: Maria Chin Abdullah was released today after 11 days of hardcore detention. Maria was arrested on Nov 18, a day ahead of a mass demonstration that called for governmental reform and transparency in the wake of a corruption scandal surrounding Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
She was arrested in Special Offences Special Measures Act 2012 (SOSMA) without trial for up to 28 days to fight security and extremist threats. After her arrest her lawyers filed an application for habeas corpus, challenging the use of SOSMA and asking the High Court to compel the police to release her.
Social media flood with Free Maria Chin Abdullah and #BebasMaria for her support.
The Guardian Reports, ” Najib has faced criticism since the Wall Street Journal reported last year that around US$700m from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was diverted into the personal bank account of the prime minister. Lawsuits filed by the US justice department in July said over $3.5bn was stolen from 1MDB, which was founded by Najib, and that some of those funds flowed into the accounts of “Malaysian Official 1”, whom US and Malaysian officials have identified as Najib. Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing and has consolidated power by sacking critics within his ruling party and cracking down on dissenting opposition party leaders, activists and lawyers.”
