Human Rights Watch (HRW), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Amnesty International, and CIVICUS on Sunday urged the Singaporean Government to immediately drop all charges against human rights activist Jolovan Wham for organising and participating in peaceful gatherings.

Under the Public Order Act, any “cause-related” assembly requires a police permit, even for an individual acting alone, if it is held in a public place or in a private venue and members of the public are invited. The law also grants the police commissioner broad discretion to reject applications for an assembly ‘directed towards a political end,’ particularly when a foreign national is involved.”

According to HRW, the Public Order Act is one of many overbroad and restrictive laws that Singaporean authorities frequently use to restrict individuals’ rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and to silence criticism against the government, especially on controversial topics such as 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,” the press release reads. “The continued criminalization 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.” 

Wham is facing three charges under the Public Order Act for his alleged involvement in candlelight vigils, which were held without a police permit, to commemorate death row prisoners between 2022 and 2025. His trial at Singapore’s State Court is scheduled to begin on April 6, 2026. 

The rights groups have pointed out a pattern of Wham being harassed and punished for his peaceful activism. He has been fined, charged, or arrested on six previous occasions between February 2017 and February 2025.

Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) holds that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.” Experts argue that some or all of the UDHR articles have achieved the status of customary international law, binding on all states. 

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):

The right of peaceful assembly includes the right to hold meetings, sit-ins, strikes, rallies, events or protests, both offline and online. It serves as a vehicle for the exercise of many other rights guaranteed under international law, with which it is linked intrinsically and that form the basis for participating in peaceful protests.

Last October, Singapore also came under international scrutiny over the execution of a Malaysian national, Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, for drug-related offenses, with Amnesty International criticizing that the case contained “multiple layers of unfairness.” In February, the country similarly executed another Malaysian national, Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, for drug-related offenses.