Police free Malaysian blogger held for possible breach of secrecy law, lawyer says

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) - A Malaysian blogger who linked a deputy minister to graft allegations has been freed after five days in police detention on suspicion of possessing secret official documents related to the case, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Rights groups, lawyers and opposition leaders have strongly condemned the arrest of Nathaniel Tan, a Webmaster for the opposition People's Justice Party, saying it was an attempt to intimidate bloggers and quell criticism of the government.

Police arrested Tan on Friday under the Official Secrets Act, on suspicion that he has documents on allegations that Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharom had taken bribes to free several gangsters, said lawyer Latheefa Koya.

Tan was freed late Tuesday after intense interrogation over an excerpt of an article posted in December on his blog on the graft allegations surrounding Johari, she told The Associated Press.

There are no charges against Tan as yet but he has to report back to police on July 31, she added.

Police could not immediately be reached Wednesday for comment.

Tan _ also an aide to former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, the People's Justice Party's adviser _ declined to speak when contacted.

Prominent blogger Jeff Ooi slammed the use of the OSA to "silence dissenting views."

"It appears this is an intimidation," said Ooi, one of two bloggers who were earlier this year sued for defamation by the government-linked New Straits Times daily over allegedly libelous remarks about the paper's editors and executives.

The case is ongoing in court but it has prompted Malaysian online political commentators to form a group to protect bloggers' interests.

Many of Malaysia's popular blogs offer political commentaries that include criticism of government policies, prompting calls from some governments ministers for tighter controls on bloggers. Political parties and the government control much of the country's traditional media.

Tan's arrest came after the Anti-Corruption Agency closed its investigation into the bribery allegations against Johari due to a lack of evidence.