Amanah lawyer Wan Anwar Wan Ibrahim said some 10 police officers were sent to arrest Mazlan at his house at 1.35am on Thursday.
“He is not a criminal and has never been convicted of any crime,” Wan Anwar told FMT.
“Furthermore, Mazlan has in the past given full cooperation to the police every time his statement was required for any case.”
Mazlan, a member of Amanah’s central committee who also heads Felda whistleblower group Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan (Anak), was released in Kuala Lumpur today.
It is understood that no charge had yet to be brought against the activist.
Mazlan was investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities or network service.
Wan Anwar said the probe could be linked to Mazlan’s speech at a rally in Kerteh, Terengganu, on March 1.
“Before Mazlan’s release, a relative of his had his statement taken under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012. We believe it was over the same rally,” he said.
On March 19, the prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor had lodged a police report accusing Mazlan of slander, after he claimed that she was involved in Felda’s sturgeon fish project, which was the subject of a corruption probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) last year.
MACC had arrested five people suspected of corruption in the project. This followed the Auditor-General’s report which stated that millions of ringgit had gone to waste in the project, which aimed to produce the highly priced caviar delicacy.