A Mongolian man sentenced to three months imprisonment last month for defaming a high-profile politician on Twitter was freed on appeal Tuesday morning.

The case had been the first to see a social media user convicted under the country’s controversial criminal defamation and libel laws.

Ts. Bat (@batengineer) an engineer and blogger, was found guilty of defaming the Minister for Roads and Transport A. Gansukh via a series of tweets posted last October in relation to the aviation sector.

Earlier Tuesday the Ulaanbaatar Appeals Court found that further investigation was necessary as to assess the content of Bat’s allegations against the Minister.

Minister Gansukh’s office had yet to respond to requests for comment on the court’s decision.

“We are very relieved that the court will consider whether what Bat wrote in his tweets was true or not,” his sister, Minister of Culture Ts. Oyungerel, said following the verdict.

The Minister said she intends to push ahead with plans to draft whistleblower protection laws in Mongolia.

“We believe that the new investigation will demonstrate that Bat is in fact a whistleblower, and that Mongolians who speak up deserve protection,” she said.

source: Topix