A Saudi blogger who caused outrage in the Gulf kingdom with comments on twitter [sic] deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad, has been arrested by Malaysian police after fleeing Saudi Arabia following calls for his execution.
Hamza Kashgari was headed to New Zealand where he hoped to gain political asylum when he was arrested upon arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Thursday.
A police spokesman confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Malaysian police had detained the 23-year-old columnist.
"This arrest was part of an Interpol operation which the Malaysian police were a part of," said the spokesman.
State news agency Bernama said Kashgari was arrested in the Muslim-majority nation "for allegedly insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed."
No further details were provided on whether the writer from the western city of Jeddah would be extradited to Saudi Arabia.
An official with the Malaysian home ministry who asked to remain unidentified told the AFP news agency that though Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have no formal extradition treaties, Kashgari could be extradited under other bilateral security agreements.
Clerics and locals in the kingdom have called for Kashgari's death for three comments he made on the micro-blogging service on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday.
"On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more," read one tweet posted on Saturday.
All three tweets were later deleted by Kashgari, who received over 30,000 responses within a day of the postings. » | Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | Friday, February 10, 2012
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