Malaysian authorities are increasingly using criminal investigations to harass journalists, protest leaders and various other critics of the government, said international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) today.

It added that under the current administration, free speech is increasingly under threat as many are facing potential prosecution and have been subject to police questioning about their work or speech.

“In a rights-respecting democracy, the government does not view journalism as a crime and accepts criticism and satire as free speech,” said Linda Lakhdhir, HRW's Asia legal advisor.

“The Malaysian government’s growing use of criminal laws to...