Singapore women acquitted after pro-Palestine protest

Sitting in court awaiting the judge's verdict earlier this month, three Singaporean women accused of organising an illegal pro- Palestine protest were prepared to be outraged.

- MAROOSHA MUZAFFAR

Living in a country where cases that reach court have a conviction rate as high as 97 per cent, and with an infamously low tolerance towards public protests and activism, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori, Kokila Annamalai, and Mossammad Sobikun Nahar awaited a guilty verdict and faced up to six months in jail and a S$10,000 (about £5,800) fine.

They were charged under Singapore's strict Public Order Act with organising an “illegal procession”, yet on 21 October were sensationally acquitted by judge John Ng. Speaking to The Independent, the women describe the verdict as a surreal victory, and one that could be quietly transformative for the country's civic landscape.

In February 2024, the activists had led around 70 people in a peaceful walk along public roads to deliver letters to the president's office demanding that Singapore cut ties with Israel over the war in Gaza, in which health officials say more than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed. The war in Palestine has become a sensitive issue in the country, which has both a sizeable ethnic Malay-Muslim population and close ties with Israel.

“I was the most confident that we would get convicted. So I had prepared a statement to read out in court after getting convicted, you know, about how, like, the system is fucking up or whatever,” Annamalai, 37, tells The Independent.

The prosecution argued that the march was illegal because, though they walked along seemingly public pavements, their route passed through a prohibited area along the external perimeter of the Istana, Singapore's presidential palace.