International human rights organisations call on Singapore Government to ‘immediately’ drop all charges against local activist Jolovan Wham

SINGAPORE: International human rights organisations Human Rights Watch, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Amnesty International, and CIVICUS have issued a joint statement calling on the Singapore government to “immediately drop all charges” against local human rights activist Jolovan Wham.

Mr Wham faces three charges under the Public Order Act over his alleged involvement in candlelight vigils commemorating death row prisoners between 2022 and 2025. The gatherings were held without a police permit.

The rights groups said in their statement, “Singaporean authorities frequently use overly broad and restrictive laws—including the Public Order Act—to restrict individuals’ rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, and to silence criticism of the government, particularly regarding its use of the death penalty.

“The persistent legal harassment of Wham and other human rights defenders and anti-death penalty activists is part of a wider crackdown on dissent that has stifled informed public debate on capital punishment in Singapore.”

They also claimed that there has been a long-documented “pattern of judicial harassment of Wham for his activism.”

Under the Public Order Act, any assembly linked to a cause requires a police permit if it takes place in a public space or in a private venue where members of the public are invited. The law also grants the police commissioner discretion to deny permits for events deemed to be political in nature, especially where foreign nationals are involved.

Mr Wham has faced multiple legal proceedings over the years. In 2017, he was fined S$8,000 for organising a silent protest on a train marking the 30th anniversary of Operation Spectrum. The following year, he was found guilty of contempt of court over a Facebook post questioning judicial independence and served a seven-day jail sentence after declining to pay a fine.

In 2019, he was convicted for organising an indoor event without the required permit for a foreign speaker, resulting in a 10-day jail term. He was also fined for refusing to sign a police statement, which he said he had not been allowed to review.

Further charges followed in 2020 over separate incidents described as illegal assemblies, including one involving a cardboard sign. In 2022, he was fined S$3,000 for a similar offence but chose to serve a 15-day jail sentence instead.

More recently, in February 2025, Mr Wham was charged with five additional offences under the same law for alleged participation in candlelight vigils between March 2022 and April 2023. Activists who gathered outside the court during his hearing are also under investigation, reportedly in connection with their presence at the peaceful assembly.

The rights groups asserted, “The continued criminalisation of peaceful assemblies in Singapore directly contravenes international human rights law and standards and is a blatant attempt to silence criticism of the government, including its continued use of capital punishment.”

Citing the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s view that peaceful assemblies should not be criminalised, the groups noted that Singapore’s human rights record will be reviewed by other countries at the UN Human Rights Council under the Universal Periodic Review on 12 May.

Calling Mr Wham a “human rights defender”, the groups appealed, “The Singaporean authorities should immediately drop all charges against Wham and other activists who are being prosecuted solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly, and cease any further judicial harassment against Wham.”

The organisations also called on the Singapore Government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and “take concrete steps to uphold the right to peaceful assembly.”