Three family members believed to be followers of the Ahmadi Religion were arrested near their home last Wednesday, a day after a follower was sentenced to six months’ jail and fined RM4,500 by the Negeri Sembilan shariah high court.

Amnesty International Malaysia called for all charges against the family to be dropped immediately, “and end the growing attacks on the Ahmadi people”.

In a statement issued today, Amnesty described the incidents as a troubling violation of fundamental rights to religious freedom. It said the government must protect the Ahmadis’ constitutional right to freedom of religion and belief.

“No one should be criminalised for practising their faith or beliefs,” the group said.

The sect, which calls itself the Ahmadi Religion of Light and Peace, is derived from Shia Islam. It is led by an Egyptian American, Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, who claims to be the second mahdi, after the founder Ahmed al-Hassan.

The sect is often confused with the Ahmadiyya (or Ahmadi) movement founded in colonial India in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who is regarded by his followers as the messiah and a prophet. Orthodox Muslims regard the movement as heretical because it does not believe that Muhammad was the final prophet.

Malaysia’s religious affairs minister, Na’im Mokhtar, has previously stated that the teachings of the Ahmadi Religion were against Islamic law; he pledged to remove social media content related to these teachings.