Sister of sultan slur accused protests his innocence

The sister of a Malaysian man who has been charged with insulting a state sultan on Facebook said yesterday he is innocent and will lodge a complaint over his detention.

Anisa Abdul Jalil said her brother Ahmad Abdul Jalil was charged on Thursday with making offensive postings on the social networking site last month.

But she said there is no evidence linking Ahmad to the posts made by someone using the name "Zul Yahaya".

"This is ridiculous as they have failed to build a case against him. We are very angry. It is a dirty game and an abuse of power ... of the court process," Anisa said.

Ahmad was freed on bail after six days of detention, during which he was denied access to lawyers and family members.

Anisa said Ahmad told the family police tried to force a confession from him but he stood firm. She said Ahmad will file a complaint with police for unlawful detention and intimidation.

Defence lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fitri said they would appeal to throw out the charges against Ahmad when the case is next heard on November 28.

The posts in question were directed at Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of southern Johor state. Fadiah said that according to the charge sheet, the postings likened the sultan's skin and behaviour to that of a pig, which is viewed as a dirty animal in Islam.