Fwd: [ASEANcats] BBC -- Singapore jails British author Alan Shadrake
anityasarva 00
From: Phil Robertson <rea...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 11:36:21 +0700
Subject: [ASEANcats] BBC -- Singapore jails British author Alan Shadrake
To: asea...@googlegroups.com
27 May 2011 Last updated at 02:57 GMT
Singapore jails British author Alan Shadrake
[image: Alan Shadrake in Singapore (20 Oct2010)] Shadrake now faces a second
trial on defamation charges
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13570701#story_continues_1>
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A British author of a book about the death penalty in Singapore, Alan
Shadrake, has lost his appeal against a six-week jail sentence.
The 76-year old, convicted of insulting the judiciary, will undergo medical
tests before beginning his sentence.
His book, Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, alleges a
lack of impartiality in the implementation of Singapore's laws.
Singapore has a history of sensitivity to how it is portrayed.
Mr Shadrake was sentenced by the High Court last November and was fined
S$20,000 ($16,150, £9,900).
"We affirm the sentence imposed by the judge," said Justice Andrew Phang of
the three-member Court of Appeal panel.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said the ruling was a "major setback
for free expression in Singapore".
The rights group said the charges should be dropped.
"The prosecution of Alan Shadrake for doing nothing more than calling for
legal reform is a devastating blow to free speech in Singapore," said Phil
Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"More broadly, until the government releases its iron grip on basic
freedoms, the Singaporean people will remain all the poorer."
The Singapore government says it has the right to ensure what it sees as
accuracy in any reporting of the young state.
Malaysia-based Shadrake was arrested in last July when he visited Singapore
to launch his book.
The book contains interviews with human rights activists, lawyers and former
police officers, as well as a profile of Darshan Singh, the former chief
executioner at Singapore's Changi Prison.
It claims he executed around 1,000 men and women from 1959 until he retired
in 2006.
"I think I've been given a fair hearing," Shadrake told the media after the
verdict was issued last year.
Separately, Shadrake is being investigated by the police for criminal
defamation; his passport is being held by the police.
--
Phil Robertson
Mobile phone: +66-85-060-8406
skype: philrobertsonjr
email: Rea...@gmail.com
"And I learn not to forget to walk the road in my rhythm
Put my faith in the hands of time
Everything comes for a reason
And life is something sublime..."
-- Anggun
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