Blogger & HRD Han Hui Hui manhandled and forcibly removed from parliamentary hearing
On 30 March 2018, Han Hui Hui was dragged from a public parliamentary hearing, interrogated, and forbidden from attending future parliamentary events. Throughout her detention, parliamentary authorities refused to justify or explain their treatment of the human rights defender.
Han Hui Hui is a blogger and human rights defender. She uses her blog and social media platforms to highlight shortcomings in social services, especially in health and housing, as well as to raise public awareness of human rights violations in Singapore. She has organised awareness programmes and events on children's rights, and the right to freedom of expression, democracy and human rights.
On 30 March 2018, Han Hui Hui was dragged from a public parliamentary hearing, interrogated, and forbidden from attending future parliamentary events. Throughout her detention, parliamentary authorities refused to justify or explain their treatment of the human rights defender.
Han Hui Hui is a blogger and human rights defender. She uses her blog and social media platforms to highlight shortcomings in social services, especially in health and housing, as well as to raise public awareness of human rights violations in Singapore. She has organised awareness programmes and events on children's rights, and the right to freedom of expression, democracy and human rights.
On 6 March 2018, the Singaporean Parliament’s Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods invited Han Hui Hui to present evidence at a committee hearing on 27 March 2018. On 28 March, following repeated last-minute changes to the scheduled time of Han Hui Hui’s presentation, the human rights defender was ultimately uninvited from speaking before the committee.
On the afternoon of 29 March 2018, Han Hui Hui attended the final day of the committee’s public hearing. Although parliamentary security had confiscated most of the human rights defender’s belongings when she entered Parliament House, they allowed her to take a pen and note paper into the session. Han Hui Hui sat down and began taking notes on the hearing’s proceedings. On the back of her stack of notes, the cover image of a book by Jothie Rajah that critiques the Singaporean legal system, “Authoritarian Rule of Law, Legislation, Discourse and Legitimacy in Singapore,” was clearly visible.
Within minutes, parliamentary officials had approached Han Hui Hui, demanding that she turn in her notes. They also demanded, without explanation, that she leave the hearing. When Han Hui Hui refused, officials forcibly removed her from the venue and confined her to a small room with several police officers. Over the following few hours, Han Hui Hui was moved from room to room and interrogated about her belongings and notes. The human rights defender was finally allowed to leave Parliament House that evening after being held for approximately three hours.
Front Line Defenders condemns the treatment of Han Hui Hui, which it believes is an attempt to deter her promotion of freedom of expression and of good governance in Singapore.
