THE Kuala Lumpur sessions court today acquitted lawyer Eric Paulsen and former Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general S. Arutchelvan on charges of publishing seditious statements on social media.

Judge M.M. Edwin Paramjothy made the order after deputy public prosecutor Norinna Bahadun told the court that the prosecution is withdrawing the charges.

Paulsen, 45, was charged with publishing seditious words on Twitter by alleging that the Islamic Development Department promoted extremism.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Classified Criminal Investigation Unit (D5) office at Bukit Aman on January 10, 2015.

Arutchelvan, 51, was charged with making a seditious post on Facebook, on the Federal Court’s decision in Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case.

The offence was allegedly committed at the D5 office on February 12, 2015.

The charges, under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, provide for a fine of up to RM5,000, or a maximum three-year jail term, or both, upon conviction.

Arutchelvan was represented by lawyer New Sin Yew, while Latheefa Koya represented Paulsen. – Bernama, August 15, 2018.