Singapore: Joint statement calls for moratorium on all executions and review of legislation
Recently, authorities in Singapore carried out executions for drug related offences. These executions are in violation of international law and standards to which a group of UN experts have reiterated the ‘lack of any persuasive evidence that the death penalty contributes more than any other punishment to curbing or preventing drug trafficking.’
There remains an ongoing deterioration of human rights in Singapore, which includes a shortened notice period ahead of executions of up to only four days and increasing fear around anti-death penalty activism. These executions continue to pose further restrictions to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression by anti-death penalty activists.
This places those facing execution in an extremely vulnerable position, where in some cases, there are no local lawyers who are willing to represent them. For example, the Transformative Justice Collective reported that on 9 October 2024, four death row prisoners had to represent themselves and argue before the Court of Appeal to allow two senior foreign lawyers to represent them in a constitutional challenge against Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act. These four prisoners included Datchinamurthy Kataiah, who argued for representation by foreign lawyers on behalf of all four prisoners.
In Datchinamurthy’s response to the Attorney-General and Law Society’s submissions, he raised that ‘leaving claimants unrepresented would be an affront to justice’.
Regarding legal representation, he went on to say that his family had approached many local lawyers to file for a stay of execution, but many were not willing to represent them. Some of the lawyers thought his case had no merit and others were afraid, which included the Commissioner of Oaths.
You can read more on Datchinamurthy’s response here
On 31 October 2024, a joint statement was issued and co-signed by Amnesty International, Capital Punishment Justice Project, ECPM- Together Against the Death Penalty, Harm Reduction International, MADPET- Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty and World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
The statement calls for:
an end to all executions in Singapore as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty;
respect of human rights of all;
an end to the harassment of anti-death penalty activists and civil society representatives; and
repeal repressive legislation and provisions in national legislation that do not full comply with international human rights law and standards.
You can read the statement here.