SINGAPORE: ADPAN appeals for the release of Author and Journalist

SINGAPORE:
ADPAN appeals for the release of Author and Journalist
19 July 2010 （中譯版本）

The Anti Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) , a regional network made up of Asia Pacific NGO’s, lawyers and activists, calls for the immediate release of Alan Shadrake, a British author arrested on 18 July in Singapore shortly after publishing his book, “Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock”.

Alan Shadrake, a 75-year-old freelance journalist and author, was arrested for criminal defamation a day after launching his book in Singapore. Police have confirmed that he is being held at the Cantonment police station. Criminal defamation carries a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.

Peaceful criticism of government policies should never be the subject of criminal proceedings. The arrest of Alan Shadrake highlights the repression of free speech in Singapore.

Shadrake’s book provides accounts of high-profile cases in Singapore involving the use of the death penalty including interviews with the former chief executioner at
Singapore’s Changi Prison. It also features interviews with local human rights activists, lawyers and police officers. The book was published by a Malaysian company and first released in Malaysia.

Last week Kinokuniya, a major book retailer in Singapore, withdrew the book after being contacted by the Media Development Authority, Singapore’s censorship body,
although the government has said the book had not been banned.

Mr. M. Ravi, a lawyer and ADPAN member is acting on behalf of Alan Shadrake and has written to the Criminal Investigation Department requesting access to his client.

Background

In Singapore the death penalty is mandatory for murder, treason and drug trafficking. Figures on the application of the death penalty are not made public and most death
sentences involve drug-related crimes for which there is a mandatory death penalty.There are concerns with regard to the presumption of guilt under Singaporean law and around the mandatory death penalty.

There is little public debate in Singapore about the death penalty, partly as a result of tight government controls on the press and civil society organizations.

ADPAN is an independent cross-regional network made up of almost 50 members from 23 countries mainly from Asia and the Pacific. Its members are committed to
working for the abolition of the death penalty across the region.

For more information, please call Louise Vischer, ADPAN coordinator, +44 (0)207 413 5656, [email protected].