Bangkok, April 26, (dpa/GNA) – Singapore on Wednesday carried out the execution of a 46-year-old man over 1 kilogram of cannabis, in a move condemned by rights advocates.
Tangaraju Suppiah, who was convicted of abetting the trafficking of 1,017 grams of cannabis, was hanged at Changi prison, Amnesty International confirmed.
“This unlawful execution shows yet again the staggering failure of Singapore’s stubborn embrace of the death penalty,” Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, Ming Yu Hah, said in a statement.
“The many flaws in the case … to the lack of disclosure of key evidence from the prosecution, as well as the continued reliance on the mandatory death penalty renders this execution arbitrary under international human rights law,” she added.
The execution took place despite pleas by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and the European Union’s delegation to Singapore not to proceed.
“We have concerns around due process and respect for fair trial guarantees,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
“We call on the Singapore government to adopt a formal moratorium on executions for drug-related offences and to ensure the right to a fair trial for all defendants in line with its international obligations,” Shamdasani added.
“The EU delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU member states and of Norway and Switzerland call on the Singapore authorities to halt the execution of Tangaraju … and to commute his sentence to a non-capital sentence,” a joint statement said.
Singapore’s drug laws are extremely strict and can carry the death penalty.
GNA