Singapore: British author Alan Shadrake granted early release

English PEN warmly welcomes the early release from prison of British author Alan Shadrake on 9 July 2011. Alan had served five weeks of an eight-week sentence for contempt of court when he was released for good behaviour. He was immediately deported to the United Kingdom, and is now staying with family members.

Alan Shadrake, aged seventy-six, was arrested on 18 July 2010 after arriving in Singapore to launch his book Once a Jolly Hangman – Singapore Justice in the Dock. The book is a critique of the use of capital punishment in Singapore, alleging double standards and a lack of impartiality. He was released on bail two days later pending trial.

On 16 November 2010, Alan was convicted by the high court in Singapore for allegedly ‘scandalising the judiciary’ in his book and sentenced to six weeks in prison. He also received a heavy fine. On 27 May 2011, the six week prison sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeal and Alan was ordered to serve an additional two weeks’ imprisonment in lieu of a fine of 20,000 Singapore dollars (£10,000).

At that time, Alan also faced a further charge of defamation for the book, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison in Singapore. However, in June 2011 it emerged that the Attorney-General had reviewed the case and concluded that although police investigations had turned up evidence of several counts of criminal defamation, they had arisen out of the same facts already dealt with in the earlier proceedings. It was therefore deemed that there was no need for further action to be taken, ‘as there [was] no public interest in commencing a further set of proceedings against him’.

Alan began serving his sentence on 1 June 2011, having been allowed to undergo medical tests.

During his detention, Alan, who is in poor health and suffers from a heart condition, became increasingly ill. He had to be transferred to the local public hospital – Changi General – for treatment. After a week he was returned to the prison, but was put in a special ward where the conditions were reportedly better.

Alan was granted an early release for good behaviour on 9 July and was immediately escorted to the airport where he was put on a flight back to the UK. He is now staying with family members and reportedly feeling much better.

Alan is very grateful to PEN for our support throughout the last 12 months, and looks forward to meeting everyone. We hope that Alan will be coming to London very soon to talk about his experiences.

If you would like to send a message of support to Alan Shadrake, please do so via cat@englishpen.org

Criminal Defamation in Singapore

The law of criminal defamation has been criticised by all the international mandates on freedom of expression. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression have all called on states to repeal their criminal defamation laws.

English PEN calls on the Government of Singapore to act urgently to repeal these laws, which bring the country into disrepute and opprobrium.