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Support M. Ravi
in his time of need
29 Oct 06
The
Singapore Democrats express our disappointment at the one-year
suspension of lawyer Mr M Ravi.
Mr Ravi has been a
faithful servant of the democratic movement in Singapore and a
dear friend of the SDP. He has also steadfastly championed
against the mandatory death sentence in this country.
The
fact that he is the only lawyer in Singapore willing to take on
cases with political overtones, and on a pro-bono basis to boot,
is testament to his courage and dedication to ensuring justice
being served. In addition, he has applied himself with
distinction to bringing international attention to the lack of
the rule of law and the violation of human rights in the
city-state.
In this time of need, when he has been
punished by the Law Society and when his mental health has been
affected, Singaporeans need to rally around Mr Ravi and give him
the support and prayer that he needs.
The media,
especially the Straits Times, should in the meantime desist in
its shameless exploitation of the lawyer's situation by
repeatedly publishing stories about his late mother.
The
SDP is confident that Mr Ravi will return stronger and even more
determined to fight the cause of justice and human rights in
Singapore. We look forward to continuing our work with him in
this endeavour.
Finally, the last thing Mr Ravi should do
is to heed the advice of the Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong who was
reported to have told the lawyer during the hearing on 29 October
2006: “We hope that you may become the lawyer that we want
you to become.”
In the 1997 General Elections, PAP
ministers were seen entering polling stations illegally. When the
SDP lodged police complaints, then Attorney-General Chan Sek
Keong said that because the ministers were found inside the
polling stations and not loitering outside of the stations, they
were not in breach of the Parliamentary Elections Act. (see AG's
explanation at
http://www.singapore-window.org/ag0721.htm).
Singapore
court suspends human rights lawyer
AFP
27 Oct 06
A Singapore court Friday suspended a human rights lawyer
from practising for one year as a result of a 2003 incident in
which he acted rudely before a district judge, court officials
said.
A tribunal known as the Court of Three Judges
suspended M. Ravi, who has defended death-row convicts and
pro-democracy activists, and ordered him to bear the legal
costs.
The city-state's Law Society referred Ravi to the
court -- the legal profession's top disciplinary authority -- for
an incident in 2003, in which he displayed discourtesy to
District Judge Wong Choon Ning.
Media reports said Ravi
had turned his back on the judge, remained seated while being
addressed and spoke loudly while other cases were being
heard.
Ravi, who has acted as a lawyer for pro-democracy
activist Chee Soon Juan and other political dissidents, could not
immediately be reached for comment.
At a hearing on
Wednesday in which Ravi was representing another political
activist charged with speaking in public without a permit, the
lawyer argued loudly with the judge and frequently interrupted
him.
At one point, he asked the judge to admonish a court
employee whom Ravi claimed had acted impolitely to his client, an
AFP correspondent witnessed.
Ravi has also represented
death-row convicts and is active in a campaign to abolish capital
punishment in Singapore.
Singapore carries out the death
penalty by hanging, saying it is an effective crime deterrent,
despite criticism from human rights groups.
Among Ravi's
clients were convicted Australian drug mule Nguyen Tuong Van, who
was hanged at Changi Prison last December, and former Singaporean
soldier and jet ski champion Shanmugam Murugesu, who was hanged
last year, also on drug charges.
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