By 
19-05-2026 | Roberta Moisuc | Asia Team Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
Singapore’s High Court has fined three women on April 30th, 2026, who organised a walk to show support for the Palestinian cause, reversing an earlier acquittal.
The three women were initially acquitted in October 2025 of organising an illegal procession. In February 2024, Mossammad Sobikun Nahar, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori and Kokila Annamalai had organised a public demonstration in support of Palestinians during the war with Israel. The three women had led approximately 70 people to walk from a shopping mall towards the presidential office, which was nearby. Their goal was to deliver letters to the Prime Minister in hope of urging him to cut ties with Israel.
As a result, the three women were charged for organising a procession without a permit in a prohibited area in June 2024. During their trial, the defence argued that the crowd was walking on public roads and that the three were not aware of legal rules prohibiting them from entering the area. At the time, the judge found that the women did know about the route restrictions and ruled to acquit the charges.
On April 30th, 2026, a judge at Singapore’s High Court overturned the original acquittal based on the “reasonable knowledge test”. Judge See Kee Oon found that the three women should have taken the steps to conduct additional research on whether their planned procession was allowed or not. Under the Public Order Act of Singapore, the three women could have received six-month sentences and fines up to 10,000 USD. The prosecution in the case, however, did not seek any jail time for the women, but the judge imposed a fine of 3,000 USD.
In an interview with BBC News after the ruling, one of the defendants, Annamalai, told the BBC: “We should have every right to walk to the Prime Minister’s Office at the Istana to deliver letters from ordinary Singaporeans”.
