Yahoo – AFP,
15 March 2016
 |
ABC
reporter Linton Besser (2nd R) and camera operator Louie Eroglu check in
at a
departure desk at Kuching International Airport on March 15, 2016 (AFP Photo)
|
Two
Australian journalists who were detained in Malaysia after trying to question
Prime Minister Najib Razak about multiple scandals swirling around him were
deported on Tuesday.
Reporter
Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu flew out of the Malaysian city
of Kuching bound for Singapore, attorney Albert Tang said.
The two
men, investigative journalists from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC), had been ordered to appear in court on Tuesday morning, facing possible
charges for obstructing a public servant.
 |
A worker
walks past a poster of the 1
Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)
logo on a truck
in Kuala Lumpur on
March 14, 2016 (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan)
|
But the
appearance was abruptly cancelled and they were informed there would be no
charges, Tang and ABC said.
"Obviously,
they are relieved," Tang told AFP.
Speaking at
Kuching's airport, Besser told reporters it had been a "roller coaster few
days" but declined further comment as the pair hurried to board their
flight.
Besser and
Eroglu were detained overnight Saturday after they crossed a security line and
"aggressively tried to approach the prime minister", Malaysian police
said.
Australian
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Monday had expressed concern at their
detention, saying journalists should be allowed to work unhindered.
ABC denies
the obstruction accusation and has said the reporters were unaware of any
police line.
"They
did nothing wrong in Kuching. They were doing journalism," ABC News
director Gaven Morris said in a statement Tuesday, adding he was "very
glad and relieved" at the outcome.
"This
incident has demonstrated again why it is vital to defend media freedom,
including the right to question authority."
Najib's
government, however, has been waging a months-long campaign to contain the
damage from scandals dogging him, which the journalist pair was in Malaysia to
report on.
These
include the murky 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman by two of his bodyguards,
who have been sentenced to death over the killing.
 |
Malaysia
was not expected to bring charges against two Australian journalists who
were
arrested for trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak (pictured) about
corruption
allegations, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said (AFP
Photo/Mohd
Rasfan)
|
Government
critics have long alleged that the bodyguards, members of a police unit that
protects top ministers, were scapegoats in the killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu.
She was at
the centre of alleged huge kickbacks in the $1.1 billion 2002 purchase of
French submarines, when Najib was defence minister.
Najib, 62,
denies involvement in the affair.
He also is
currently battling separate accusations that billions of dollars were stolen
from a state-owned fund he founded, and over his own admitted acceptance of a
mysterious $681 million overseas payment.
Besser
tried to question Najib on Saturday night during a visit to a mosque in
Kuching, which is on Borneo island.
Najib and
the state firm deny any wrongdoing, but he has moved to curb investigations and
purge ruling-party critics over the financial scandals, and his government has
pressured media outlets reporting on them.
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