The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) expresses grave and serious concern in  relation to recent decisions taken by courts in Singapore and Nigeria to hand down the death  penalty over video conference. 

In Nigeria, on 4 May 2020 Olalekan Hameed was sentenced to death for allegedly murdering  his employer’s mother, and in Singapore on 15 May 2020, Punithan Genasan was sentenced  to death for his alleged role in a heroin transaction. Both sentences were provided via a  Zoom remote video call, and both men have been sentenced to death by hanging. 

The use of video conferencing technology like Zoom to hand down the death penalty, a  sentence with absolute finality, has been labelled as particularly callous by observers. When  an accused faces a potential sentence of death, the need to uphold their access to the highest  standard of fair trial rights is paramount. A court hearing that takes place via video  conferencing, raises a number of concerns including the accused’s ability to understand the  Court’s findings; their ability to properly instruct legal counsel and their access to interpreters  where necessary.  

ADPAN maintains that the death penalty is cruel and unusual in all circumstances and  advocates for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. In the interim, we urge both  Nigeria and Singapore to not only suspend these sentences but also immediately cease the  use of video conferencing for death penalty cases.