SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singapore's police investigation of an Internet blogger who posted cartoons mocking Jesus Christ.
"It is not the job of the police to intervene in this kind of case. By targeting this blogger, the authorities have once again shown they attribute scant importance to media diversity and independence," the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement.
"In their view, the role of press is simply to educate and orientate the public, a position not very dissimilar to the one taken by the Chinese and Vietnamese regimes."
The Straits Times has reported that the 21-year-old blogger, who described himself as a "free thinker", first posted a cartoon in January depicting Jesus Christ as a zombie biting a boy's head.
He ignored an online message asking for the cartoon's removal and went on to post more caricatures of Christ to spite the sender.
"I never thought anyone would complain to the police because the pictures were not insidious," he told the newspaper, adding that the cartoons had already been removed from his site.
Police told AFP Friday they are continuing to investigate the blogger after first questioning him in March.
The blogger could be jailed for up to three years or fined 5,000 Singapore (3,148 US) dollars or both if convicted under the Sedition Act.
"It is a serious offence for any person to distribute or reproduce any seditious publication which may cause feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes," an earlier police statement said.
SA: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060623...ternetmediarsf