Ali Abd Jalil seeks political asylum in Sweden

Activist Ali Abd Jalil, faced with sedition charges for allegedly insulting the Sultan of Selangor and Johor royalty, has fled to Sweden to seek political asylum.

In a Facebook posting today, Ali claimed he had been threatened by thugs and fears for his safety in Malaysia.

According to a report by Rakyat Times, Ali was adopted by Amnesty International Malaysia as a prisoner of conscience and is now in Sweden, waiting to have his application heard to be granted political asylum.

He left the country on October 18 and flew to Stockholm from Bangkok on the morning of October 21.

Amnesty International Sweden is reportedly making arrangements for Ali to be given legal representation, the portal reported.

His sister Asiah Abdul Jalil confirmed that Ali has left the country and is in the midst of applying for asylum.

His family, however, only found out about the latest development after Ali had arrived at Sweden.

“We did not know. We are also shocked," she told The Malaysian Insider.

"Ali had succeeded in obtaining a visa. We hear the magistrate in that country has approved it.”

"Now, he is in the midst of applying for asylum in that country, but he needs to go through a few processes,

including confirmation that he is a Malaysian citizen and the kind of threats he is facing," she added.

The family, Asiah said, is supportive of her brother’s decision to leave as he was under pressure and faced a lot of threats, including death threats, the portal reported.

"We have lodged a police report but we fear that no action will be taken on it.”

Ali is faced with three sedition charges for allegedly insulting the Sultan of Selangor and Johor royalty through his Facebook postings.

Ali was first detained by police on September 8 and was held in custody in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor until he was finally released on September 29.

The activist also claimed he had been assaulted by a prison official while he was held at the Sungai Buloh prison.