Go Kastari Go! Mas Selamat Kastari, my hero.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

No doubt about it. The escaped prisoner Mas Selamat Kastari is my hero. He managed to escape his unlawful detention and got his freedom in dramatic, almost heroic circumstances from a detention facility from which escape is impossible. Or almost, except for Kastari. Other than Kastari, only a Rambo could have managed such a feat. Good for him. And both the police and the citizens of Singapore should look aside, a wink wink nod nod, and let him pass safely if possible; if no one is watching. By doing that you will doing freedom and democracy a great deal of good.

An outrageous statement! Not at all. Look at the facts.

First of all he is not a "terrorist". And when he is finally safe, he should engage a top notch defamation attorney to sue both the Singapore government and Lee Kuan Yew for calling him one. And give Lee Kuan Yew taste of the same bitter medicine which he has been successfully giving to all his hapless political opponents over the last 40 years.

He was arrested in 2006 for allegedly being a mastermind in wanting to blow up Changi Airport. For over a year they have not charged him with anything. Up till the time of his escape, no charges have yet been brought. None at all. The law clearly says that a man is presumed innocent, unless proven guilty. Why then was he kept for 1 year without any charges being brought? Clearly Lee Kuan Yew had no proof.

Therefore, not only is he innocent and therefore not a "terrorist" but he was unlawfully detained for one whole year. For this there is a legal term as well . It is called false imprisonment. Mr. Kastari should when convenient not only sue the government of Singapore for defamation of character and claim four figure monetary award for calling him a "terrorist", but additionally for damages for false imprisonment for an entire year.

And he should throw in a claim for punitive damages. It is about time someone drove Lee Kuan Yew and his friends into bankruptcy through a defamation of character lawsuit. And at this moment, Mr. Kastari appears the most appropriate litigant. Lee Kuan Yew should be sent to the cleaners for this. And Mr. Kastari is the man for it.

If there is any "terrorist" around, it has to be Lee Kuan Yew and his Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Wong Kan Seng, both terrorists of the basest kind; for going around illegally detaining innocent people and calling them terrorists!

Secondly, Singapore has no jurisdiction in this matter at all. It is alleged that he was arrested in Indonesia. If indeed he was arrested in Indonesia, all the planning to blow up Changi Airport, by the way a completely unproven fact, must have occurred in Indonesia. In this case, the offense was committed in the country where it occurred, namely Indonesia. Singapore has no jurisdiction whatsoever and he was therefore apprehended and repatriated to Singapore unlawfully. Mr. Kastari stands to recover even greater damages in any lawsuit for this breach.

Mr. Kastari has every right to try to escape from a facility that is unlawfully detaining him in violation of international norms of just and fair jurisprudence. I am talking about detention without trial. There is no civilized country in the world that will condone such misuse of the law.

I am not condoning the American use of Guantanamo to detain enemy combatants but there are some arguments or legal fiction that they use to justify Guantanamo. Firstly it is not US territory, Guantanamo being in Cuba thereby dispensing with the need for due process which only applies within US territory. Secondly they are enemy combatants in the Afghan war, and being enemy combatants, a term of art, which does not give them protection under the Geneva Convention.

None of these arguments can apply to Singapore. Mr. Kastari was not involved in any war with Singapore. Second, he is not an enemy combatant in the American definition. He is merely a criminal (allegedly that is) who wanted to blow up Changi, which of course he denies. So, charge him like a criminal. Bring charges. Use your corrupt judges to find him guilty. Even that would have been better than merely repeating that he is a "terrorist" again and again; without your having any proof at all. Without proof there can be no charges. And that is why, both I and the entire population of Singapore are not surprised that Lee has not managed to officially charge him.

To me Kastari is a hero. As far as I know he has not harmed anyone and could indeed be the nicest man in the world.

And another reason why he should escape from Singapore's custody is its legal system itself. We all know that there is no rule of law. Quite clear from all the defamation of law cases successfully prosecuted by Lee Kuan Yew against JB Jeyaretnam and lately Dr. Chee Soon Juan; all before Lee Kuan Yew's corrupt judges in his corrupt legal system. Since Mr. Kastari is now already fully aware that the legal system of Singapore is compromised, there is no rule of law, there is no guarantee that he will not be detained for his entire life just because it pleases Mr. Lee, since Singapore is governed by Lee Kuan Yew by dictate; tell me who in the world will not try to escape his jailers in such a case as this.

If I was detained in these circumstances, I too will escape, if I can; even though I may not succeed. Mr. Kastari's escape was dramatic, only seen in movies. As for me, I would have to lose much weight to even attempt such a feat! And mind you he even did this with a broken leg! If there is an Olympic award or some international award for exceptional achievement in prison escapes, Kastari wins gold medal.

Perhaps Mr. Kastari is safe now in Indonesia. But if he is not and someone sees him in Singapore; please remember what I have said. He has not been proven guilty of anything. He is not a terrorist. The only "terrorists" are the ones calling him that. You must agree that he has managed an escape which is normally found in adventure stories. Give him credit for that. Look away if you can.

Please remember that quite often in dictatorial banana republics such as Singapore, it the accuser who is the greater criminal than the accused. As is shown in this case.

And if you like what I write, please tell it to your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com