British death penalty opponent and author Alan Shadrake faces a heavy legal burden in seeking acquittal over charges of contempt of court in Singapore. Jousting during Shadrake's July 30 court hearing on various procedural matters revealed some of the flash points in the case .The 75-year-old British author faces imprisonment up to two years or fines or both for allegedly criticizing the impartiality of the Singaporean judiciary in several pages of his recently released book about the island state's death penalty, Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock. In addition to the pending contempt citation, Shadrake's attorney, human rights litigator M. Ravi, said his client is under investigation for the separate but as-yet-uncharged crime of criminal defamation. Full Story
