Update 3/22/17: On March 22, 2017, the magistrate’s court in Kuala Lumpur fined Lena Hendry RM10,000 (US$2,260), after convicting her in February under Malaysia’s Film Censorship Act for screening a documentary film about Sri Lanka. The conviction and sentence violate the right to freedom of expression under international law and should immediately be quashed, Human Rights Watch said.

“Hendry’s baseless conviction and now sentencing show that the Malaysian government’s muzzling of activists is out of control,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “The government should throw out this case and then throw out the Film Censorship Act, before the next arbitrary target is found.”

(Bangkok) – A Malaysian court’s conviction of rights activist Lena Hendry for her role in showing a documentary film violates her right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 21, 2017, a Kuala Lumpur court found Hendry guilty of organizing a private screening of the award-winning human rights documentary, “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,” without censorship board approval nearly four years ago. She will be sentenced on March 22, and faces fines and up to three years in prison.