Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a blogger was sentenced to three months in prison for expressing his opinion on the judiciary of Singapore over the internet on September 17, 2008.
CASE DETAILS:
According to information received, Gopolan Nair, a US citizen and a former Singaporean lawyer was arrested in Singapore on May 31 under article 13D of the Miscellaneous Offences Act. This was precipitated by his criticism of judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean. She had handled a lawsuit which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, brought against Chee Soon Juan, the secretary general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and his sister, Siok Chin.
He wrote about the Judge in his blog that she was “prostituting herself during the entire proceedings, by being nothing more than an employee of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders”. Four days after his arrest, he was charged with “sedition” for criticizing Ang and another judge, Lai Siew Chiu, for their handling of the case. He was released on bail on June 4.
On September 18, he was sentenced to three months in prison by the lower court for “insult” under Article 228 of the criminal code. He asked for national and international support of his case on the internet. (Please see also youtube)
Meanwhile, a week before his sentence was handed down the attorney general of Singapore took out contempt of court proceedings against the publisher of the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal and two of its editors. He said that their editorials “impugn the impartiality, integrity and independence of the Singapore judiciary”.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Mr. Chee Soon Juan, secretary general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), and his sister and fellow activist Chee Siok Chin were sentenced to jail terms of 12 days and 10 days respectively for contempt of court on June 3, 2008.
Anyone can make comments or have opinions on the decisions made by a judge and, which is, in fact, needed for a healthy democracy in a democratic society. However, in Singapore, opinions and expression, in particular those which touch upon politics, race and religion, are tightly regulated and criminal defamation has been widely used to limit critics.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to free Nair. Please also urge them to repeal the criminal defamation law in the country.
Please be informed that the AHRC has also written separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression calling for intervention in this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
SINGAPORE/USA: A blogger sentenced for expressing opinion on the judiciary
Details of victim: Mr. Gopolan Nair, 58 years old, US citizen and former lawyer in Singapore; arrested on May 31 and released on bail on June 4; sentenced three months’ imprisonment under article 228 of the criminal code on September 17
I strongly condemn the decision of three months’ imprisonment of Gopolan Nair for commenting on the Singapore judiciary in his blog.
According to the information that I have received, he was arrested on May 31 for his comment in his blog on the judiciary regarding the case of Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin who were sentenced to jail term for contempt of court and due to his comment, he was sentenced three months’ imprisonment under article 228 of the criminal code on September 17.
From the information I have learned that while monitoring the cross-examination on the case of two persons mentioned above, he wrote about the judge in his blog by saying that she was, ‘prostituting herself during the entire proceedings, by being nothing more than an employee of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders’. It is his comment on the decision of the judiciary over the case.
If a person who criticizes the judgment is simply punished on the grounds of ‘insult’ under the criminal code, how the Singapore can achieve improvement and development in the area of the judiciary. This will also be a serious setback on the freedom of opinion and expression, which people have little room for it in the country. Article 228 of the criminal code should have not been applied to this case because it fails to pursue a legitimate aim. The criminal sanction against him is also not a proportionate to the damages caused. Its abuse will be a serious setback on the freedom of opinion and expression.
Thus, I urge that the decision by the lower court on his case must be reversed in the appellate court and the criminal sanction must be withdrawn. International and regional human right institutions such as UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression has also pointed out the right to freedom of expression is of paramount importance in any democratic society which enables everyone to participate in the free political debate.
I also urge that there must be considerations in the country and measures taken to develop the system in order to promote and protect the freedom of opinion and expression. Otherwise, the discrepancies of decision by the judiciary of Singapore and that of other countries will go far beyond without imagination.
I take this opportunity to remind the government of Singapore that in many common law countries, prosecutions for criminal libel are rare and criminal sanctions resulting in penal sentences have not been used in defamation cases in many years.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Lee Hsien Loong
Prime Minister
Prime Minister’s Office
Orchard Road
Istana
Singapore 238823
SINGAPORE
Fax: +65 6835 6621
E-mail: pmo_hq@pmo.gov.sg or lee_hsien_loong@pmo.gov.sg
2. S. R. Nathan
President
Office of the President
Istana, Orchard Road
Singapore 0922
SINGAPORE
Fax: +65 6735 3135
E-mail: S_R_Nathan@Istana.gov.sg
3. Prof. S JAYAKUMAR
Minister of Law
100 High Street #08-02
The Treasury
Singapore 179434
SINGAPORE
Tel: +65 6332 8840
Fax: +65 6332 8842
E-mail: jayakumar_s@mfa.gov.sg
4. Mr. George W. Bush
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
United State of America (USA)
Fax: +1 202 456 2461
E-mail: comments@whitehouse.gov or vice_president@whitehouse.gov (for vice president)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
