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Human rights activists accuse Singapore of failing to recognise the rights of rioters
Agence France Presse - December 18, 2013
Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said the deportation of the 52 Indians and one Bangladeshi, as well as criminal charges filed against 28 other Indians, would "send a strong signal" that Singapore would not "tolerate actions by anyone which threaten law and order."
The riot on December 8, Singapore's worst outbreak of violence in four decades, saw hundreds of South Asian workers go on a rampage that left 39 persons, including police officers, injured and 25 vehicles damaged or burnt.
It was triggered after an Indian construction worker was hit by a bus and killed at a district known as Little India, where tens of thousands of South Asian labourers converge on weekends.
Activists say the swift punishments being handed out contravene basic human rights. "Singapore's shock at the deplorable violence that took place is understandable," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.
"Ensuring the rights of defendants will strengthen, rather than weaken, the support of the international community for Singapore's handling of this situation," he said. "In this vein, a question worth asking is why were so many migrant workers deported without a judicial proceeding?"
Isabelle Arradon, deputy Asia Pacific director for the London-based Amnesty International said Singapore authorities were "moving too quickly" in dealing with the alleged rioters. "These men shouldn't be arbitrarily deported as they have a right to due process," Ms Arradon said.
She also called for the government to review its migrant labour policies in the aftermath of the riot, noting that many of the nearly one million foreign workers in the city-state "face various forms of discrimination" and "work in very poor conditions".
Charges laid
Officials on Tuesday said the 53 men being deported were being held at an immigration depot, and would be sent home as soon as travel and administrative arrangements are settled.
Those being deported were deemed to have threatened public order for not dispersing despite police orders, while the 28 Indian nationals currently remanded in police custody and facing rioting charges were assessed to be active participants in the riot.
About 200 others will be handed "police advisories" after investigations showed they were at the scene of the riot but were "relatively passive".
The Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately comment on the status of the deportation on Wednesday.
Singapore's Immigration Act allows for the government to repatriate foreigners deemed a threat to public security.
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