Malaysia police raid Al Jazeera office, seize computers, over migrant documentary
- Police opened an investigation last month into the documentary on the treatment of undocumented migrants after officials complained it was inaccurate
- Al Jazeera described the incident as a ‘troubling escalation’ in the Malaysian governments crackdown on media freedom
Malaysian police raided the office of news broadcaster Al Jazeera and two local TV stations on Tuesday, seizing computers as part of an investigation into a documentary on undocumented migrants that enraged the government.
Al Jazeera, a Qatari-state owned broadcaster, slammed the raid as a “troubling escalation” in a government crackdown on media freedom.
Police opened an investigation last month into the Al Jazeera documentary on the treatment of undocumented migrants after officials complained it was inaccurate and biased. Seven Al Jazeera staff members have been grilled by police as part of the probe for alleged sedition, defamation and violating the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Police obtained court warrants to search the offices of Al Jazeera as well as local broadcasters Astro and Unifitv, criminal investigation chief Huzir Mohamed said in a statement. The two local TV stations had reportedly aired the video.
Huzir said the raids were conducted jointly with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, which is also investigating the stations.
