KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Eric Paulsen today said he had an obligation as the head of a civil liberties movement to speak out on extremism, in response to Muslim group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia’s (ISMA) defamation lawsuit against him.

The Lawyers for Liberty executive director also asserted in his statement of defence that his offending remarks should be protected under the categories of “fair comment” and “qualified privilege”.

“The defendant as the executive director of LFL that champion human rights and public interest expresses his thoughts and worries on issues concerning public interest including the possibility of extremism and violence in Malaysia following the news of terror attack in Paris," Paulsen said.  

He further denied that he had "hurt" ISMA in any way as the group is a well-known non-governmental organisation and should be subjected to public scrutiny.

On January 9, Paulsen tweeted: “Yes, if Govt continues to support or close an eye to extremist groups like Isma & Perkasa” in reference to a news report on Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s comments that the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris earlier this year could occur in Malaysia.

ISMA then issued a letter of demand on January 22 accusing Paulsen of portraying the group as an extremist movement and indicating that its members have “the tendency to be extreme”, “drawn to militancy” and that they supported the attack on the satirical French weekly.

The group then filed its defamation lawsuit on September 2, after Paulsen did not respond to the demands for a retraction and public apology.