Massive Attack responds after Singapore ban over Palestine display
The band Massive Attack has been banned from Singapore after displaying a Palestinian flag and chanting slogans during a performance. The group expressed surprise at the severity of the response, noting they were detained and questioned by local authorities.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between international artists' freedom of expression and the strict political speech laws enforced in certain sovereign states.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall of Massive Attack (file photo)
Massive Attack has said it was "surprised and disappointed" by its treatment by Singaporean authorities after expressing pro-Palestine sentiments during a performance in the city-state.
The group wrote on Instagram on Sunday that its members were "detained by the police, isolated and separately questioned", with some subject to hotel room searches and temporary passport confiscation.
The band's two members held up a Palestinian flag during its 29 July show there and shouted "free Palestine" alongside members of the audience.
Singapore, which has stringent rules on public speech and assembly, subsequently said it had indefinitely banned Massive Attack from returning to the country.
A police spokeswoman told the BBC on Friday that the two band members would not be allowed to re-enter Singapore and were barred from performing there.
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