Seventy-five-year-old British freelance journalist Alan Shadrake did not expect to be arrested in Singapore over his book, Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, about death sentences in the city state.
Shadrake, who wrote articles for London's Daily Telegraph and other newspapers, told AFP after the book's Singapore launch on Saturday that he had expected trouble, but felt that the authorities were not going to take action, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
"If they do anything, it'll just draw more attention to it all, and they have no defence," he said.
Shadrake told the Herald's Diary: ''A reporter (from the Straits Times) asked me for an interview, which I agreed to. But her article never appeared."
Shadrake has been arrested and charged, but his book, Once A Jolly Hangman, has not been banned. It is in the Singapore National Library's reference collection.
Yet the book was taken off the shelves of Kinokuniya, Singapore's biggest bookstore, less than two weeks after its release late last month – after the store was contacted by the Media Development Authority (MDA), says Al Jazeera. It adds:
An MDA spokesperson said the book had not been banned but added that the authority would "where necessary, advise book importers and retailers to seek legal advice to ensure that the books they sell do not contravene Singapore laws", local broadcaster MediaCorp said.
Instead of banning a book, why advise booksellers to clear with their lawyers the books they sell?
Arrested writers and publishers
Here are some recent cases of writers and publishers arrested in other countries:
Syrian writer Raghdah Hassan was arrested and detained in February this year. "Her unpublished first and only novel, The New Prophets, tackles political issues through a love story involving two Syrian prisoners," reported Amnesty International, calling for her release.
Egyptian publisher Ahmed Mahanna was detained in Cairo in April, a month after publishing a book called ElBaradei and the Dream of a Green Revolution by Kamal Gabrial, calling for political changes. The Egyptian Mohamed ElBaradei was the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; he and the agency were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
American writer Mark Sable was detained by the US Transportation Security Administration during a domestic flight in May last year when they discovered a script in his luggage for Unthinkable, a comic book about a government think tank that brainstorms terrorist plots. Security officials became concerned that Sable might be trying to carry out a terrorist act, reported Comics Alliance.
Mohammed Yasin Ahmad, author of the Urdu book Islami Surah Ya Beimani Ka Panchnama, was arrested in the Indian state of Bihar and charged with hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community following a complaint by a local cleric in January 2009.
Spanish police in 2007 arrested rightwing Austrian writer and publisher Gerd Honsik, who was wanted in his home country for repeatedly denying the Jewish Holocaust and the use of gas chambers by the Nazis.
Criminal defamation in Singapore
Shadrake has been charged with criminal defamation, which is more serious than civil action in Singapore, according to what the Attorney General's Chambers said last year.
Channel NewsAsia reported on October 16, 2009:
The Subordinate Court… threw out a criminal defamation suit involving some members of the Singapore Swimming Club (after) the Attorney-General (AG) asked that the proceedings be discontinued.
The AG Chambers said in a media briefing on the case:
The law of criminal defamation is not to be resorted to lightly.
A person who feels that he has been defamed may institute a civil action against the alleged defendant. If his claim is well-founded, the court will award the appropriate damages and costs.
Should his claim fail, however, he will be liable to pay the legal costs of the defendant. The prospect of payment of costs ensures that defamation suits are not instituted lightly.
No such limiting mechanism exists in respect of criminal defamation. Although the courts have power to award costs in criminal proceedings, this is uncommon; and unlike in civil proceedings, costs do not automatically follow the event.
Moreover, it is only in the most serious cases that a person who has allegedly defamed another should face the prospect of a jail sentence. In the above-mentioned cases, a term of imprisonment or fine is not appropriate.
Criminal defamation in other countries
Britain abolished criminal defamation last year, reported The Online Citizen.
The United States also does not have criminal defamation legislation at the federal level, although such provisions remain on the books in 17 of its 50 states, according to Article 19, a human rights group. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression."
According to an Article 19 survey from January 2005 to September 2007, at least eight people have been jailed for defamation in the Americas, 22 in Europe, 35 in Asia and the Pacific, 40 in the Middle East and 41 in Africa.
The Philippines had the largest number of people imprisoned in Asia for defamation – at least six since January 2005, according to the survey. China had imprisoned at least five people for defamation during the period, the report added, noting:
In other countries, like Malaysia and Singapore, civil defamation (since) fines are uncapped, leaving plaintiffs bankrupt… leads to wide self-censorship, which is more effective than the threat of imprisonment provided for by criminal defamation provisions.
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