Joint Statement:
Drop Charges Against Kokila Annamalai in Singapore
We, the undersigned organisations, stand in solidarity with Singaporean abolitionist activist Kokila Annamalai Parvathi, criminally charged on 23 April 2026 for defying a correction direction under Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
In October 2024, she spoke up about the cruelties of the death penalty regime and how it impacted Azwan Bihari and his family. The state’s response was not to answer her concerns but to order her — under threat of law — to publicly declare her own views false. She bravely refused.
For this act of conscience, she now faces up to 12 months in prison and a S$20,000 fine. This is the second criminal prosecution under POFMA since the law was enacted in 2019.
POFMA was never about falsehoods. It is a tool used by the government of Singapore to intimidate activists and silence dissent. This latest charge against Kokila simply proves it.
We call upon the government of Singapore to:
- Drop all charges against Kokila Annamalai Parvathi;
- End the use of POFMA against activists and dissenters;
- Repeal POFMA;
- Impose an immediate moratorium on executions and abolish the death penalty.
This joint statement is endorsed by:
- Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
- Socialist Alliance, Australia
- Europe solidaire sans frontières (ESSF), France
- Workers’s Initiative, Kolkata, India
- People’s Liberation Party, Indonesia
- Sedane Labour Resource Centre (LIPS), Indonesia
- Aliran, Malaysia
- MANDIRI, Malaysia
- North South Initiative (NSI), Malaysia
- Pemuda Sosialis PSM, Malaysia
- Haqooq Khalq Party, Pakistan
- Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM), Philippines
- Socialist Workers Thailand
If your organisation would like to endorse this statement, can fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/LoCPtFXZgfPCcUVr6