It's no First Amendment, but it's a start: A court in Malaysia ordered the release of a widely read blogger on the basis that the government was overstepping the bounds of enforcing national security.

According to The New York Times, Malaysian authorities arrested blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin Sept. 12 under the conditions of the country's Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

Raja Petra is one of the most popular voices in the country, and also one of the most critical of the current Malaysian government. The government accused him of inciting hatred by posting comments that insulted the prophet Muhammad and figures in government.

Judge Syed Ahmad Helmy ruled that these allegations were not enough to keep Raja Petra detained indefinitely and ordered his immediate release.

The court decision is seen as an important diversion from the fate of what Tommy Thomas, a Malaysian human rights lawyer, estimates to be more than 20,000 people detained under the same act.