Yet more fallout from the Chee Soon Juan vs Lee Kuan Yew defamation case. Lee testified under oath that he had received a letter from the International Bar Association commending Singapore’s judiciary; this was first denied by the IBA, causing Chee to raise the matter again with the court, and the Asia Sentinel opined:

It was the kind of error that would earn a Singapore opposition politician a trial for perjury, probably with a heavy fine and perhaps a jail term. But when Lee Kuan Yew testified in the recent trial of opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, he probably “misspoke” – told a crucial untruth, deliberate or not.

Now the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute has publicly “expressed concern” about Singapore’s judiciary (full report here, PDF):

“It certainly appears that Dr Chee has been made a target by the Singapore government, and that their criticism of him has gone far beyond a reasonable standard,” the IBA wrote.

It said the Singapore judiciary had a good international reputation when adjudicating commercial cases that did not involve the interests of PAP members or their associates.

“However, in cases involving PAP litigants or PAP interests, there are concerns about an actual or apparent lack of impartiality and/or independence,” it said.

Quotes from AFP news story on the report; the Straits Times already has a response that “dismisses allegations“.