KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Prosecutors have charged two Malaysians with sedition and inciting religious enmity after they posted a photograph on Facebook considered an insult to the Muslim holy month of fasting.
They face up to eight years in prison if convicted of both charges in the Muslim-majority nation.
Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, both ethnic Chinese non-Muslims in their 20s, drew criticism when they uploaded a photograph of themselves earlier this month eating pork stew while conveying greetings to Muslims for the current fasting month of Ramadan. Pork is forbidden for Muslims.
Malaysia's attorney general, Abdul Gani Patail, said both were charged in court Thursday. They pleaded not guilty.
Sedition as defined by Malaysian law includes spreading ill will among people of different races.
Nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's population comprises ethnic Malay Muslims.
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