SINGAPORE: Defence lawyers for three women accused of organising a procession to the Istana to publicise a cause of solidarity with Palestine on Tuesday (Sep 16) urged the court to acquit them of their charges.
Mr Derek Wong and Mr Uthayasurian Sidambaram from Phoenix Law argued that the purpose of the event that day was for participants to deliver letters to the rear gate of the Istana.
It was not a public procession but conducted in this way
The prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt so the trio should be acquitted, he added.
The three Singaporean women on trial are: Mossammad Sobikun Nahar, 26, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori, 30, and Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, 37.
They are each contesting a charge under the Public Order Act of organising a procession publicising the cause of solidarity with Palestine between 2pm and 3pm on Feb 2, 2024, along the perimeter of the Istana.
The lawyers also argued that Annamalai was not an organiser and was merely providing moral support for her friend, Nahar.
In response, a team of prosecutors led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun said the trio were not charged with supporting a particular cause, and not even charged with writing letters to the Istana.
"What we have to bear in mind is this - that the charge is for the accused persons organising a procession in a place where they ought to know is a prohibited area," said Mr Hay.
He said a procession is defined as a march, parade, or other group movement along a common route in a public place involving two or more people with the purpose of demonstrating support or opposition to something, publicising a cause, or marking an event.
He said the cause "is very clear" - two of the women had come up with the idea that they should do something more to support the cause, because in their experience, they felt that all their previous letters had fallen "dead silent".
"We've heard evidence that the 70-odd persons who gathered at Plaza Singapura were not a motley collection of persons who happened to be there at the same time," said Mr Hay.
He said these people were in fact "galvanised" by what the women had put out to the public to write letters demanding the government to take tougher action against "one of the parties involved in the conflict", to proceed from the gathering point and to go to the Istana to personally deliver the letters.
Mr Hay said the participants lined up two by two holding umbrellas marked with watermelons, which he said was a significant and widespread symbol of solidarity with Palestine.
Arguing that the trio "tried to downplay how widespread the symbol is known", Mr Hay said: "We think it's rather arrogant for them to decide whether the public knows or do not know what the symbol means."
However, he said this was not the relevant point - the point was that the trio knew it, and that by opening the umbrellas, there was a "visual impact" and a "major publication of the cause".
At this, Annamalai laughed in the dock. The trio were speaking quietly among themselves, nodding and smiling at various points during legal
Mr Hay said the three women already knew there was a risk advisory cautioning against holding events relating to the cause.
The police had issued an advisory in October 2023 stating that events and public assemblies in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict would not be permitted, due to public safety and security concerns.
District Judge John Ng stressed that the court is concerned only with the single charge against each of the three women.
He asked the prosecution what the police advisory has to do with its case, since the advisory did not talk about events in a prohibited area.
He questioned Mr Hay on whether it was reasonable for the trio to know that the area outside the Istana was a prohibited area.
"You were saying, you know, this was a permit-based regime with regard to how public order events are to be organised, and they should have checked," Judge Ng said to the lead prosecutor.
"But if I would put something more stark to you - it is very clear from the police advisory no permit will be given, so it seems a bit arbitrary to say - they should have checked whether they could get a permit or they should have tried to get a permit, and if they did, then they would have known they shouldn't have done this," said the judge.
"Actually, the very fact of the matter is, the advisory is actually telling all and sundry - don't even try to apply. We are not giving out any in light of the reasons given in the advisory," said Judge Ng.
To the defence, he said: "Would you not agree it's very naive to say our cause was to deliver the letters?"
He said evidence had been heard about a certain urgency in the situation and why it motivated some of the supporters to turn up for this event.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Ng said he needed time to digest the information and to come up with his findings, both factual and legal, in this case.
The trio will return to court on Oct 21 for the verdict.
If convicted of organising a procession in a prohibited place under the Public Order Act, they could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
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Mr Derek Wong and Mr Uthayasurian Sidambaram from Phoenix Law argued that the purpose of the event that day was for participants to deliver letters to the rear gate of the Istana.
It was not a public procession but conducted in this way
The prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt so the trio should be acquitted, he added.
The three Singaporean women on trial are: Mossammad Sobikun Nahar, 26, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori, 30, and Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, 37.
They are each contesting a charge under the Public Order Act of organising a procession publicising the cause of solidarity with Palestine between 2pm and 3pm on Feb 2, 2024, along the perimeter of the Istana.
The lawyers also argued that Annamalai was not an organiser and was merely providing moral support for her friend, Nahar.
In response, a team of prosecutors led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun said the trio were not charged with supporting a particular cause, and not even charged with writing letters to the Istana.
"What we have to bear in mind is this - that the charge is for the accused persons organising a procession in a place where they ought to know is a prohibited area," said Mr Hay.
He said a procession is defined as a march, parade, or other group movement along a common route in a public place involving two or more people with the purpose of demonstrating support or opposition to something, publicising a cause, or marking an event.
He said the cause "is very clear" - two of the women had come up with the idea that they should do something more to support the cause, because in their experience, they felt that all their previous letters had fallen "dead silent".
"We've heard evidence that the 70-odd persons who gathered at Plaza Singapura were not a motley collection of persons who happened to be there at the same time," said Mr Hay.
He said these people were in fact "galvanised" by what the women had put out to the public to write letters demanding the government to take tougher action against "one of the parties involved in the conflict", to proceed from the gathering point and to go to the Istana to personally deliver the letters.
Mr Hay said the participants lined up two by two holding umbrellas marked with watermelons, which he said was a significant and widespread symbol of solidarity with Palestine.
Arguing that the trio "tried to downplay how widespread the symbol is known", Mr Hay said: "We think it's rather arrogant for them to decide whether the public knows or do not know what the symbol means."
However, he said this was not the relevant point - the point was that the trio knew it, and that by opening the umbrellas, there was a "visual impact" and a "major publication of the cause".
At this, Annamalai laughed in the dock. The trio were speaking quietly among themselves, nodding and smiling at various points during legal
Mr Hay said the three women already knew there was a risk advisory cautioning against holding events relating to the cause.
The police had issued an advisory in October 2023 stating that events and public assemblies in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict would not be permitted, due to public safety and security concerns.
District Judge John Ng stressed that the court is concerned only with the single charge against each of the three women.
He asked the prosecution what the police advisory has to do with its case, since the advisory did not talk about events in a prohibited area.
He questioned Mr Hay on whether it was reasonable for the trio to know that the area outside the Istana was a prohibited area.
"You were saying, you know, this was a permit-based regime with regard to how public order events are to be organised, and they should have checked," Judge Ng said to the lead prosecutor.
"But if I would put something more stark to you - it is very clear from the police advisory no permit will be given, so it seems a bit arbitrary to say - they should have checked whether they could get a permit or they should have tried to get a permit, and if they did, then they would have known they shouldn't have done this," said the judge.
"Actually, the very fact of the matter is, the advisory is actually telling all and sundry - don't even try to apply. We are not giving out any in light of the reasons given in the advisory," said Judge Ng.
To the defence, he said: "Would you not agree it's very naive to say our cause was to deliver the letters?"
He said evidence had been heard about a certain urgency in the situation and why it motivated some of the supporters to turn up for this event.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Ng said he needed time to digest the information and to come up with his findings, both factual and legal, in this case.
The trio will return to court on Oct 21 for the verdict.
If convicted of organising a procession in a prohibited place under the Public Order Act, they could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
Continue reading...