A petition has been started on Change.org calling for the 7 charges brought against activist Jolovan Wham to be dropped. 7 charges were brought against Jolovan under the Public Order Act, Vandalism Act, and the Penal Code.
“As an activist, Jolovan has spoken out against detention without trial and has been an untiring and staunch advocate of free speech, as well as for migrant workers who face exploitation and poor working conditions in Singapore”, the petition states, alluding to his social work in Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME), protecting and fighting for the rights of foreign workers in Singapore, who are more prone to be exploited.
“The prosecution of Jolovan Wham has a chilling effect on free speech where the law is used as a tool of intimidation against peaceful and non-violent activists.” This is but a part of an ongoing persecution of activists exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of assembly.
Other activists who were investigated and intimidated include activist Rachel Zeng, who was co-organiser with Jolovan for the forum that got Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong to speak via Skype, artist Seelan Palay, who was arrested after doing a performance piece standing outside of Parliament, activist Kirsten Han and TOC’s Terry Xu for participating in a vigil for 29-year-old death row inmate Prabagaran Srivijayan.
“Non-governmental organisations have made statements in support of Jolovan and urging the government of Singapore to drop these charges against him. They include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Function 8. We hope you will, too.”
Paul Tambyah, Chairperson of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), has also recently released a statement in support of Jolovan Wham.
You can sign the petition here.
