Human rights defender and pro-democracy activist Chee Soon Juan
has been sentenced to jail for three weeks in Singapore for
refusing to pay a fine slapped on him for trying to leave the
country unauthorised and while bankrupt. Amnesty International
Canada has organised an appeal for his release.
Chee, leader of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), was fined
4,000 Singaporean Dollars (US$2,600) or three weeks in prison in
default of payment after he tried to attend a democracy conference
in Turkey in April 2006. Last week, the High Court dismissed his
appeal and upheld his conviction.
Chee was declared bankrupt in February 2006 for refusing to pay
500,000 Singaporean Dollars (US$328,900) in libel damages to former
Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.
Amnesty has repeatedly expressed concern about defamation suits,
bankruptcies and criminal charges used or threatened against
government critics, human rights activists and foreign news media,
which have lead to a climate of political intimidation and
self-censorship in Singapore. Freedom of expression is tightly
controlled by the People's Action Party, which has been in power
for more than 40 years with almost no opposition MPs.
According to Amnesty, Chee has made a dozen applications to
travel abroad to attend human rights and democracy meetings, all of
which have been rejected. Chee has been jailed five times since
1999 for speaking in public without a permit, and for questioning
the independence of Singapore's judiciary.
Despite the loss of his university position, several terms of
imprisonment, bankruptcy and a ban on his contesting parliamentary
elections, Chee continues to speak out about human rights and
democracy. Before his arrest, he was planning a counter-conference
on 17 October to the International Bar Association (IBA)'s
international symposium in Singapore on the rule of law. Judging by
IBA's panels and speakers - high flyers from the Singapore
government - Chee did not expect human rights violations and misuse
of the law would make it onto the agenda. His parallel conference
will feature its own high-profile lawyers, politicians and
activists who will prevent the IBA panel from "hijacking the idea
and the practice of the rule of law," and also meet with IBA
officials to get human rights on the "official" agenda.
How about this...
Release him after he spend some time in a place where he can get
food and lodging for free.