British journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown accuses Malaysia of imposing a politically motivated sentence

Journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, who is based in the UK, has accused Malaysia of seeking "political revenge" after she was sentenced to two years in prison for criminal defamation in absentia. The 64-year-old is appealing the surprise conviction, which came as a result of her reporting on the 1MDB scandal, where $4.5 billion was stolen from the Malaysian sovereign fund. Rewcastle Brown believes that she is being targeted for exposing the corruption of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was also convicted in relation to the scandal. The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the ruling and called on Malaysia to protect press freedom. Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah, who filed the defamation case against Rewcastle Brown, has not provided a comment. Rewcastle Brown fears that the verdict may restrict her ability to travel freely and is seeking support from the UK government and various NGOs. She hopes to continue her work in bringing information in the public interest to the wider audience.