Activist To Be Charged Over Posting About Immigration Depot Conditions

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Detainees at an immigration depot. A refugee activist is to be charged for a posting about conditions at such centres.(Facebook pic)PETALING JAYA: Refugee activist Heidi Quah said today she is to be charged at the Cyber Crimes Court tomorrow morning over a posting about conditions at immigration centres in June last year.
Quah, the founder of the Refuge for the Refugees organisation, said she would be charged under the Communications and Multimedia Act with circulating false or offensive content.
The Facebook posting had detailed the experiences of a former detainee of an immigration detention centre. It was published at a time of widespread backlash against government crackdowns on undocumented migrants during the first few spikes of Covid-19 cases in the country.
She was then questioned for two hours at the Putrajaya district police headquarters.
Heidi QuahShe said today that she stood by what she had written.
“The sharing on my Facebook was intended to highlight my concerns about the conditions in immigration detention centres and the harm that would be caused by sending more people en masse into immigration detention centres that were known to be overcrowded and unhygienic,” she said.
Quah said the annual reports of Suhakam, the human rights commission, “reflect the very concerns I had” regarding hygiene standards at the depots, abuse, mistreatment, neglect, and poor sanitation.
She added that it was “unfortunate and frustrating” that the government’s resources were being focused on investigating her, when it should be focused towards Parliament, the pandemic and the people.
“While this charge has shaken me up, I will go forward with courage tomorrow – I will not be silenced for speaking up,” she said. - FMT

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