KUALA LUMPUR – Local legal rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has called on the Singaporean government to stop “harassing and intimidating” lawyer and activist M. Ravi.
The group claimed that Ravi, who is known to defend Malaysians on death row pro bono in Singapore, has been punished by the city-state’s judiciary for being outspoken, evident in the seven separate disciplinary inquiries and three contempt of court proceedings initiated against him.
LFL’s chief coordinator Zaid Malek reminded Singapore that tenets within the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers say the state has a duty to ensure lawyers are allowed to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.
“The failure to uphold this principle will inevitably destroy the integrity of its justice system, where a fair trial will be all but impossible,” he said in a statement.
He claimed that the move to deprive certain parties of a fair trial was evident in the Singaporean system when mothers of death row inmates were forced to handle court proceedings themselves, as local lawyers refrained from representing them.
“The rule of law must be upheld, and this can only be done if the right of legal representation is respected and lawyers can execute their duties without fear of punitive consequences.
“The number of pending cases launched by the government, AG and courts is simply breathtaking.”
He added that it is disturbing to see the extent Singapore is willing to go to “decimate” Ravi merely for taking a “principled stand”.
Singapore’s Court of Appeal in its dismissal of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam’s appeal for a stay of execution also chided Ravi for his supposedly “disrespectful” conduct within the courtroom.
Ravi had in November claimed he was being harassed by the Singaporean Attorney-General’s office after a personal cost application was filed against him, which seeks to make the lawyer foot all legal and court costs in the case, instead of his clients. – The Vibes, May 5, 2022
