HRW calls on S'pore govt to drop charges against Chee

[metalslug]

http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/3...ls-on-spore-govt-to-drop-charges-against-chee

HRW calls on S'pore govt to drop charges against Chee
Wednesday, 09 February 2011
Human Rights Watch

Chee Soon Juan Faces Prison for Conviction Violating Free Speech Rights

The Singaporean government should drop politically motivated charges brought in 2006 against opposition party leader Dr. Chee Soon Juan that will lead to a prison term on February 10, 2011, if he does not pay a fine, Human Rights Watch said today.


Chee faces a prison term of 20 weeks starting February 10 if he cannot pay fines of S$20,000 (US$15,720) for "making an address in a public place without a license," which was upheld by an appeals' court on January 20. Human Rights Watch said that the convictions violated Chee's rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

"The Singaporean government is once again abusing the justice system and trampling on basic rights to remove an opposition politician from the political playing field," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The government should end this persecution of Dr. Chee and show that free speech is not a dead letter in Singapore."

Chee, 48, is the secretary-general of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). He was convicted four times, in each case for speaking in a public area with street vendors for four to five minutes about upcoming elections ultimately held in May 2006. He spoke to crowds that observers estimated ranged up to 40 or 50 people. In each instance, Chee encouraged people to purchase copies of the The New Democrat, the party newspaper, as a way to support his party. The courts convicted Chee of violating the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act (PEMA), which provides that "any person who provides ... any public entertainment without a license under this Act, shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000."

Chee is currently prohibited under the Singaporean constitution from serving in Parliament. Section 45 of Singapore's constitution states that anyone who "has been convicted of an offence by a court of law in Singapore ... and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than $2,000 and has not received a free pardon" is not qualified to be a member of parliament. Political observers believe that national elections for parliament will be held in the first half of 2011.

For years the government has relied on repressive laws to jail and bankrupt Chee. Between 1999 and 2006, Chee was arrested four other times for violating Singapore's laws restricting public speech and assembly. In November 2006, he chose imprisonment rather than pay a S$5,000 fine. In 2002, senior leaders Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong sued Chee for remarks he allegedly made regarding a loan to Indonesian President Suharto. In February 2006, after Chee failed to pay the S$500,000 (US$393,000) in court-awarded damages, he was declared bankrupt, which prohibited him from running in the 2006 elections and from leaving the country.

Other members of the Singapore Democratic Party also have been fined and jailed, many repeatedly, for speaking without a permit or for peacefully demonstrating.

Singapore's human rights record will undergo international scrutiny in May in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Singapore's violations over many years of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly should be prominently raised by governments commenting on Singapore's human rights record, Human Rights Watch said.

"If the penalties were not so severe, it would be laughable that a so-called ‘democratic' government would actually lock up someone for giving a speech on a sidewalk and encouraging people to buy their party's broadsheet," Robertson said. "The governments reviewing Singapore's record at the Human Rights Council should highlight cases where Singapore's oppressive laws make peaceful speech a criminal offense."

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/08/singapore-drop-charges-against-opposition-leader

 

[lovesamleong]

Singapore's record of abuse of free speech is a joke. Dr Chee should not be charged

 

[suicidalpap]

The MIW bastards had been making an address in public place without a license for donkey years. none of them had ever been charged. Why target Chee only?

 

[suicidalpap]

IBAHRI expresses concern about human rights and the independence of the judiciary in Singapore

In a report released today, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) expressed concern about limitations on the freedoms of expression, assembly, and the press, and of the independence of the judiciary in Singapore. The report, Prosperity versus individual rights? Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Singapore, makes 18 recommendations (pages 67-68), which the IBAHRI urges the Singapore Government to implement as a matter of priority.

‘As one of the world’s most successful economies, Singapore should be a leader in human rights and the rule of law, and should now have the confidence and maturity to recognise that this would be complementary, not contradictory, to its future prosperity,’ said Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the International Bar Association (IBA). ‘The IBAHRI has identified a number of areas in which Singapore falls far short of international standards. In particular, democratic debate and media comment are extremely restricted and government officials have initiated numerous successful defamation suits against both political and media critics.’


The IBAHRI report examines Singapore’s record on a range of human rights issues identified by the IBAHRI as a priority. This includes freedom of expression (for example, the use of defamation legislation to hinder opposition activities, and restrictions on freedom of the press and the internet), the independence of the judiciary (there have been allegations of executive influence), and freedom of assembly.

Investigations for the report began in the lead-up to the IBA’s 2007 Annual Conference in Singapore. Strong debate between the government and its critics took place during the IBA’s inaugural Rule of Law Day; an open public forum on human rights which was the first such discussion at an international conference in Singapore.

Emilio Cárdenas, Co-Chair of the IBAHRI, stated: ‘The IBAHRI has conducted a very extensive review in preparing this report, and has sought the views of all the major stakeholders concerned, including the Singapore Government and the Singapore Law Society. The report is unprecedented in its efforts to understand, respond to, and reflect the views of all sides to the debate.’

Download the full report: Prosperity versus individual rights? Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Singapore.


For further information please contact:

Romana St Matthew - Daniel
Press Office
International Bar Association
10th Floor
1 Stephen Street
London W1T 1AT
United Kingdom

Tel: + 44 (0)20 7691 6868
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7691 6544
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ibanet.org
Related Documents
Prosperity versus individual rights? Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Singapore, July 2008 (Singapore_report.pdf)