ADPAN Calls on Singapore to Immediately Halt ALL Executions

September 20, 2020, Statements

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) is alarmed by the recent death row statistics provided by various sources in Singapore.

We understand that the current population on death row stands at 55 people, with the majority of the inmates on death row due to drug related offences. Based on case tracking and information gathered from various sources by abolitionists in Singapore, it is estimated that about 20 inmates have exhausted all legal options. This implies that there could be a spike in executions in Singapore in the coming weeks or months. At present, we are aware that at least two executions have been scheduled – Syed Suhail Bin Syed Zin (originally on Friday, 18 September 2020) and Moad Fadzir bin Mustaffa

(Thursday 24 September 2020). Syed Suhail was granted a temporary stay of execution after human rights lawyer M Ravi filed a judicial review against his sentence on Wednesday 16 September 2020.

ADPAN urges the Singapore government to immediately:

Impose an immediate moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing capital punishment

There is no evidence that the use of the death penalty acts as an effective deterrent against crimes. Furthermore the sentence, once carried out, is irreversible. Law and order institutions are not infallible to mistakes and human error; the finality of the death penalty carries the risk of grave injustice when innocents are executed. We cite the case of Ilechukwu Uchechukwu Chukwudi, a Nigerian, who was acquitted of a capital drug trafficking against him on 17 September 2020 in Singapore after it was proven that his statements were recorded when he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Had his legal team not persisted, Ilechukwu who was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to death in 2015, could have been unjustly executed.

Review the current methodology on the war on drugs

The majority of cases on death row in Singapore are for drug related offences; comprised of individuals mainly from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Some of them, like Syed Suhail, also struggled with addiction before their incarceration despite being “treated” by the Drug Rehabilitation Center (DRC) when they were previously arrested for possession and/ or consumption of prohibited drugs. It is time Singapore employs a holistic and sustainable solution to the issue of drug addiction by treating it as a matter of public health wherein anyone struggling with drug addiction will be treated and supported instead of being incarcerated and then stigmatized.

Grant public access to information of cases and real time statistics beyond legal documents on Courts’ websites and annual prison statistics

Due to the lack of transparency and the existence of the Officials Secrets Act which criminalises the dissemination of information from prison workers, abolitionist groups campaigning against the death penalty in Singapore can only rely on information provided by family members of inmates, lawyers, and documents of legal proceedings on the Court’s website, as well as whatever little news reports that shed light on capital cases. Together with our abolitionist colleagues in Singapore, we call upon the government to make good their commitment during the 2011 Universal Periodic Review process to make information about the use of the death penalty publicly and easily available, i.e., lift the secrecy on executions, grant public access to information of cases, as well as provide real time statistics on the death row in Singapore.

Lastly, we recognize that campaigning in a country with tough laws against freedom of expression and assembly as well as very little resources and public support is an uphill task, and we would like to express our strongest solidarity with our fellow abolitionists in Singapore.

ADPAN Calls on Singapore to Immediately Halt the Imminent Execution of Syed Suhail Bin Syed Zin

September 20, 2020, Statements

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) urgently calls upon the Government of Singapore to stop the execution of Syed Suhail Bin Syed Zin who is scheduled to be hanged at Changi Prison on Friday 18 September having being convicted of drug offences.

Singapore is a sovereign nation which rightly recognises the fundamental liberties of the person and the right to life and liberty in Part IV of its Constitution. To engage in state-sanctioned killing of prisoners, regardless of the nature of their offending, is an affront to the universal right to life and accordingly undermines the inherent dignity of all people. Singapore is in a position to adopt the recommendations of UN member states and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. By doing so, Singapore could promote the fundamental liberties which it protects in its Constitution and acknowledge that the persistence of the death penalty is an inherent contradiction to the ‘enhancement of human dignity and progressive development of human rights’. ADPAN calls for the Government of Singapore to exercise its sovereign powers and immediately stay the execution of Syed Suhail.

The death penalty will not ensure the protection and safety of the Singaporean people from drugs. There is no evidence that executions are a more effective deterrent. The international drug trade continues to thrive despite thousands of executions being carried out in the last decade for drug related offences worldwide. Syed Suhail has suffered from drug addiction problems and is himself a victim of the drug trade. ADPAN urges Singapore to take an approach that would address the underlying causes of addiction and offending rather than continuing to carry out executions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore’s focus should be on preventing the spread of COVID-19 instead of creating more pain and death by carrying out executions. Syed’s sisters and aunt and uncle live in Malaysia. Syed’s father died in 2006. Syed’s execution should be stayed to prevent his family from being subjected to any more loss.

It should not be assumed that the death penalty is a necessary feature of the administration of justice within Singapore. Rather, Singapore has the opportunity to introduce a moratorium on executions and be a human-rights leader in the Asian-Pacific region, following the unmistakable international trend towards abolition of the death penalty. ADPAN maintains that the death penalty is cruel and unusual in all circumstances and advocates for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

Proceeding with the execution of Syed Suhail Bin Syed Zin would only illustrate the inherent futility of the death penalty. ADPAN calls on the Government of Singapore takes action immediately, consistent with the exercise of its sovereign powers, to prevent Syed’s unnecessary death.

ADPAN

Month: September 2020