Australia is concerned about the detention of two Australian journalists who attempted to interview the Malaysian prime minister over corruption allegations, its foreign minister said yesterday.
Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) TV reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu were arrested in the Malaysian city of Kuching on Saturday after approaching Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on the street.
They were detained by Malaysian police for six hours and told to remain in Kuching, capital of the state of Sarawak, while authorities decided whether they should be charged, ABC said.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop suggested the detention was part of a Malaysian crackdown on press freedom and said Australia was raising their case at the “highest levels within the Malaysian government.”
“I’m always concerned where there are instances of a crackdown on freedom of speech,” Bishop told reporters during a visit to Fiji.
Sarawak police said the pair were detained after they “crossed the security line and aggressively tried to approach” Najib while he was visiting a mosque.
The police said in a statement that the two defied police instructions not to cross the line.
They were released on Sunday morning, but there is an investigation underway into whether they obstructed a public servant from discharging his duties, the statement said.
Malaysia’s opposition spokesman Fahmi Fadzil told ABC a conviction could result in two years in prison.
ABC denied that Besser and Eroglu had crossed a security line and aggressively tried to approach the prime minister.
They stopped filming and left the event when they were asked to, the state-owned broadcaster said.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi defended the police response, saying the two Australians should have respected Malaysia’s regulations.
Besser and Eroglu, on assignment for an investigative current affairs program, had asked Najib as he entered a mosque why US$681 million had been deposited been deposited into his bank accounts, ABC reported.
Najib is engulfed in a scandal over the early 2013 deposits.
Najib did not respond and his security detail surrounded the two and questioned them. They were allowed to leave, but were detained again as they returned to their hotel, ABC said.
They were questioned in a police station for six hours and their passports were taken.
Their passports were returned, but they were told they must remain in Kuching while the attorney general’s office decided whether they should be charged. That decision is expected in the next several days.
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