Mr. Gandhi Ambalam will be released from Queenstown Remand Prison on 7 December 2006, Thursday. He is expected to walk out of prison between 9.30am to 12 noon.
Mr. Gandhi will be the second of the three prisoners of conscience who have been jailed by the Singapore authorities for speaking in public without a permit. The first who was released on 2 December 2006 was Mr. Yap Keng Ho.
The family of Mr. Gandhi have been extremely concern about his health as he is suffering from heart ailment. His wife and daughter were granted a visit to him a day after his incarceration. They have not been allowed to see him since, despite the fact that they have raised concerns to the prisons about his ailment.
Mr. Gandhi is an SDP stalwart and a fierce critic of the ruling party. This is his second conviction under Singapore’s Public Entertainment and Meeting Act (PEMA). He was found guilty of breaking such repressive laws together with Dr Chee Soon Juan when both men attempted to speak at a Labour Day rally outside the Istana in 2002.