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: 

1. 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.  

2. 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.  

3. 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.