health posed by COVID-19. According to UNICEF, health workers accounted for 10.2% of all COVID-19 cases as of July. On 2 July, doctors stopped treating COVID-19 patients because they had not received compensation or PPE. On 28 July, the government announced that health workers would benefit from a health insurance scheme, and that families of health workers who died of COVID-19 would be financially compensated.
The rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly were further curtailed, including via the use of a “fake news” law.
Prison conditions
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Detention facilities were chronically overcrowded and the health risks to inmates were exacerbated by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 27 April, the President announced that 235 prisoners nationwide would be pardoned to ease overcrowding and reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. The decision was delayed following the prison riot in April two days later, but on 21 July, 153 inmates were released.
Throughout the year, directives under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) – a so-called “fake news” law – were issued against government critics. In January, authorities claimed it was a “coincidence” that the first cases under POFMA involved political opponents. In February, Facebook expressed concerns over being forced to block a news site page under POFMA.1 Independent media outlets, including The Online Citizen (TOC) and New Naratif, were repeatedly hit with POFMA orders. In September, the Court of Appeal reserved judgement on the first legal challenges to POFMA.
RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL On 19 March, former minister Alfred Paolo Conteh was arrested after he entered the State House in Freetown carrying a gun. Two others were also arrested for the incident. They were detained at Pademba Road prison but on 29 April, following the riot there, they were transferred to an unknown location without access to their lawyers for several days. In July, Alfred Paolo Conteh was acquitted of treason but convicted on two charges of possession of arms and sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment by the High Court in Freetown. His appeal against the conviction remained pending at the end of the year.
SINGAPORE Republic of Singapore Head of state: Halimah Yacob Head of government : Lee Hsien Loong
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BACKGROUND In July, the People’s Action Party retained power in general elections with a reduced majority. The country was placed under strict lockdown from April to June, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MIGRANT WORKERS In April over 300,000 migrant workers were quarantined in overcrowded dormitories due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all of Singapore’s cases of infection were among migrant workers. Heavy restrictions on their movement remained at the end of the year. In September the acquittal of a domestic worker accused of theft from her employer drew attention to access to justice and inequality for migrant workers.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS In March, police investigated human rights lawyer M Ravi and TOC editor Terry Xu for contempt of court under the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act. The investigation followed the publication of articles on TOC’s website regarding Mohan Rajangam, a Singaporean who challenged his extradition to Malaysia in 2015.
Amnesty International Report 2020/21
