The Singapore High Court has denied writer Alan Shadrake’s appeal against his six-week jail sentence.

Shadrake was convicted of “scandalising the judiciary” in November after he published “Once A Jolly Hangman” a book criticising the use of the death sentence in the city-state. The author was first arrested in July 2010 while on a book tour and subsequently released on bail. Singapore law considers statements that “interfere with the administration of justice” a criminal offense. The British writer, 76, still faces a separate charge of defamation.