KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian graphic artist was charged yesterday with violating multimedia laws by caricaturing Prime Minister Najib Razak as a sinister clown to protest at allegations of massive corruption.
Fahmi Reza's depictions of Mr Najib went viral earlier this year, and posters and stickers bearing the images have also appeared in public places, earning the designer-activist comparisons to street-art provocateurs like Banksy.
He was charged under a section of Malaysian communications and multimedia laws that forbid disseminating online content deemed to "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass" others.
Fahmi, 38, faces a possible one-year prison sentence and 50,000 ringgit (430,000 baht) fine, his lawyer, Syahredzan Johan said.
"This is essentially criminalising [free] expression," Mr Syahredzan said.
He said police were also investigating Fahmi for sedition.
In a Facebook posting yesterday, Fahmi vowed to "defend my rights to criticise the corrupt rulers by using art as a weapon".
Fahmi was warned by police previously to stop posting the images, which show Mr Najib in powder-white clown make-up, evilly arched eyebrows and a garish blood-red mouth.
Mr Najib is battling accusations that billions of dollars were stolen from a state-owned development fund he oversees, and is under pressure for accepting a mysterious US$681 million (24 billion baht) overseas payment.
Mr Najib denies accusations that the huge payment was siphoned from the struggling fund.
But he has fuelled anger by curbing investigations, purging government figures who have demanded transparency and clamping down on media reporting of the affair.