Kuala Lumpur - A prominent Malaysian blogger was charged Tuesday with sedition after an article he wrote online allegedly implicated the deputy prime minister in the killing of a Mongolian woman in 2006. Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin pleaded innocent to the charge and was detained after he refused to post the 5,000 ringgit (1,470 dollars) bail.
If found guilty, he will face a maximum sentence of three years. The court set the trial for October 6.
About 100 supporters, including fellow bloggers and opposition members, waited outside the magistrate court in Kuala Lumpur and cheered Raja Petra as he came out of the courtroom.
The sedition charge follows an April 25 article on Raja Petra's popular website Malaysia Today titled "Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell."
Prosecutors say the article implies that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansoor, were involved in the 2006 killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian whose body was found blown up after she was shot.
Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib's political advisor, is currently facing trial on charges of abetting the murder along with two policemen.
Neither Najib nor his wife have been charged or officially linked to the murder.
Last July, police questioned Raja Petra over articles he wrote that criticized the government.
The government has warned that it will use draconian laws, including the Internal Security Act which allows for detention without law, on bloggers if they are found to publish articles threatening national security.
