Activist Adam Adli, center, smiles before being released on bail at a court house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 23, 2013. Prosecutors filed a sedition charge Thursday against a student activist who urged Malaysians to engage in street protests against the government over claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Activist Adam Adli, center, smiles before being released on bail at a court house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 23, 2013. Prosecutors filed a sedition charge Thursday against a student activist who urged Malaysians to engage in street protests against the government over claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Activist Adam Adli, left, smiles before being released on bail at a court house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,Thursday, May 23, 2013. Prosecutors filed a sedition charge Thursday against a student activist who urged Malaysians to engage in street protests against the government over claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Police stand guard outside a court room in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 23, 2013. Prosecutors filed a sedition charge Thursday against a student activist who urged Malaysians to engage in street protests against the government over claims of election fraud. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) ? Malaysian authorities detained two anti-government figures and charged a student activist with sedition Thursday, raising political tensions after recent national elections triggered claims of fraud.
Opposition activists have staged numerous peaceful demonstrations since May 5 general elections, which the National Front coalition won with a weakened parliamentary majority. They insist the coalition, which has governed since 1957, retained power through bogus ballots and other irregularities, but Prime Minister Najib Razak and electoral authorities deny manipulating the results.
The latest arrests involve Tian Chua, a senior official in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party, and Haris Ibrahim, a rights activist who leads an anti-government group. Both men have criticized the National Front at political gatherings since the elections.
Chua wrote on Twitter that police detained him at an airport and told him he was being held for sedition. Haris was held separately, but it was not immediately clear what he was being investigated for. Police officials responsible for their case could not immediately be contacted.
After his arrest, Chua tweeted that Malaysians should not allow themselves to be "overtaken by fear (but should) continue to assemble peacefully and have faith."
Their arrests occurred hours after prosecutors charged student Adam Adli, 24, with making seditious statements that included calling for people to "go down to the streets to seize back our power" while addressing a political forum. He pleaded innocent at a Kuala Lumpur district court Thursday and was released on bail ahead of a hearing July 2.
Sedition as defined by Malaysian law includes promoting hatred against the government.
Rights activists have long criticized Malaysia's anti-sedition law as a tool to curb democratic dissent. Najib said last year the government planned to eventually abolish the Sedition Act, which was introduced in 1949 during British colonial rule, and replace it with new laws that would strike a better balance between allowing freedom of speech and ensuring public stability.
Adam, who was arrested last weekend, faces three years in prison and a fine if convicted.
Hundreds of demonstrated peacefully in recent days against Adam's arrest. Adam became publicly known in 2011 when he brought down a flag bearing Najib's portrait at the ruling party's headquarters during a demonstration. He was subsequently suspended for three semesters from his teaching course at a Malaysian state-backed university.
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