Singapore: A Singapore court on Tuesday acquitted three women, including 37-year-old Indian-origin Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, of organising a pro-Palestine procession near the presidential palace. The court found that the women were unaware the route they took was prohibited under the Public Order Act.
The women, along with around 70 other participants, walked to the rear gate of the Istana on February 2, 2024, to hand-deliver letters supporting the Palestinian cause to the Prime Minister’s Office, which has a mail drop-off point at the palace, Channel News Asia reported.
Each woman faced one charge under the Public Order Act for organising a procession publicising solidarity with Palestine along the Istana perimeter. District Judge John Ng ruled that the prosecution failed to prove that the women “ought reasonably to have known” the area was prohibited. He noted that the perimeter was a public path with no signs indicating restrictions and that similar walks had been conducted previously to deliver letters.
Judge Ng concluded that the women held an “honest and reasonable belief” that they were not violating the law.
Following the acquittal, Annamalai Kokila Parvathi called the outcome “an incomplete victory” and said there remains a “long road ahead to win our civil liberties as well as Palestine’s freedom,” according to reports.
