Author's conviction in Singapore upheld

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Singapore (CNN) -- A Singapore court on Friday rejected an appeal by a British author against a conviction for contempt of court over a book that criticized the justice system.

Author Alan Shadrake was put on trial by the government of Singapore for his book on the death penalty in Singapore.

Police arrested him in July, a day after he released his book "Once A Jolly Hangman" in Singapore.

Statements in his book criticized Singapore's judicial system, leading to the contempt of court charge, according to the attorney general.

His book asserts that Singapore's death penalty is applied unfairly to the poor and spares those with money and political connections.

Singapore's court of appeal concluded that the book contained statements that undermined the integrity of the judicial system.

Those statements "scandalize the core of the mission and function of the judiciary. More than that their cumulative effect reveals a marshaling of a series of fabrications, distortions and false imputations in relation to the Courts of Singapore," the appeals judge said in a ruling.

Shadrake was sentenced to six weeks in jail and a S$ 20,000 fine (U.S. $16,000), a penalty his lawyer calls the "harshest ever received in a contempt of court case" in Singapore.

The author had not expected his appeal to be successful, said his attorney M. Ravi, a well-known Singaporean human rights lawyer.

"He will continue to fight against the injustices in the way the death penalty is administered in Singapore," Ravi said.

"I'm disappointed with the judgement because ... Singaporeans should be allowed to judge the book themselves and not be told how to look at the book.

Ravi said Singapore should have looked at allegations in the book as an opportunity for reform.
 
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