Alan Shadrake

Alan Shadrake (born mid-1934) is a British author and former journalist, who was convicted in Singapore in 2010 of contempt of court for scandalising the Singapore judicial system, through his published views on the country's criminal justice system. Following a failed appeal, he served 5½ weeks in prison.

Career After working with several local weeklies and a news agency, including Hornchurch and Upminster News, in Bolton, Lancashire, he joined the Daily Express in Manchester. He resigned in 1962 to freelance in West Berlin six months after the Berlin Wall was built and stayed until 1967.

Shadrake, a resident of adjacent Malaysia, was said by the Singapore Government to have "cast doubt on the impartiality and independence of the judiciary", and was also served with legal papers citing him for contempt by scandalising the court. The arrest and charge followed several previous instances where Singapore's leaders have sued journalists and political opponents for defamation.

His arrest and subsequent detention for two days received widespread media coverage and elicited calls for his release, including from Amnesty International, and renewed attention on Singapore's practice of capital punishment. He was released pending trial after a local activist posted his bail of S$10,000 (US$7,240).

Shadrake's case was in October and he mounted a vigorous defence, founded on the legal concept of 'fair criticism and fair comment'. His lawyer was M Ravi, a prominent human rights lawyer in Singapore.

During the trial, Reporters Without Borders launched a petition calling on the Singapore government to lift its restriction on Shadrake's travel, in view of his poor health.

On 2 November 2010, a verdict of guilty of contempt of court was rendered by High Court Judge Quentin Loh. Shadrake subsequently apologised if he had offended the sensitivities of the judiciary and did not mean to undermine the judges or the judiciary. The prosecutors felt that the apology was insincere and intended to lighten the sentence from the court. On 16 November, Shadrake was sentenced to six weeks in prison and fined S$20,000.

At the time of this verdict, Shadrake also faced separate charges of criminal defamation, punishable by up to two years in prison and a substantial fine.

On 10 April 2011, Shadrake appealed against his sentence. The Court of Appeal affirmed the original sentence on 27 May 2011 and he was jailed on 1 June. He was unable to pay the fine and his sentence was therefore increased by a default two weeks' jail to a total of eight weeks. On 9 July, he was released early 'for good behaviour' and deported back to Britain.

Repercussions Before Shadrake's book was published, Yale University had plans to establish a liberal arts college in conjunction with the National University of Singapore. Four Yale professors took issue with the question of academic freedom in a nation that hinders freedom of expression and, in light of the Shadrake verdict, asked the University administrators to reconsider establishing the college. They were unsuccessful, and Yale-NUS opened its doors in 2011.

Personal life Shadrake was born in Essex in England. After his third marriage to a Korean American ended in 1997 he moved to Las Vegas. In 2002 he was invited by the Singapore government to write travel features to attract American tourists. He stayed to marry his fourth wife, a Chinese Singaporean.

He has four children, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.