2009 Award Winner: Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

A leading human rights lawyer and activist, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar is the current president of the National Human Rights Society (HAKAM).

Imtiaz has been a central figure in fighting lawsuits brought against journalists and bloggers, and was the lead counsel for Raja Petra Kamaruddin, popular blogger and editor of Malaysia Today, whose release he secured last year. In August 2006, a poster declaring him to be a traitor to Islam and calling for his death was circulated in Malaysia. He has proposed setting up an inter-faith council, and spoken in a series of public forums on the need for religious freedom.