They protested the execution this week of Tangaraju s/o Suppiah, who was found guilty of conspiring to import cannabis from Malaysia into the country in 2013.
Fair investigation concerns
Mr. Suppiah, a 46-year-old Tamil from Singapore, was hanged on Tuesday despite claims that he had not provided a full explanation during police interrogations.
“Death penalty can be done after due process as well every possible defense that ensures a fair trialwith legal representation at all levels of procedures and special interpretation at all oral procedures,” said the experts.
Alarm execution rate
They added that the rate of execution notices for drug-related offenses in Singapore is “highly alarming”.
Mr. Suppiah heard that it was the 12 childrenTh people to be hanged from March 2022, according to the UN human rights office, OHCHR, which has urged the Government not to continue with its execution, citing concerns around due process and respect for justice guarantees.
UN experts say that countries that have not abolished the death penalty can impose the death penalty only for the most serious crimes.
“Under international law, only crimes of great gravity involving intentional killing can be considered ‘most serious’. Drug offenses clearly do not meet this door,” they argued.
The exception is the smaller ones
Rights experts also voiced concerns about the discriminatory treatment of people from minority groups, such as Mr. Suppiah, and reports of retaliation against their lawyers.
Mr Suppiah was sentenced under Singaporean law, which makes capital punishment mandatory for certain offences, including drug-related convictions. The experts said that the mandatory sentencing law removes the judges think about it think each time, right and circumstances.
“We also say that the mandatory use of the death penalty is an arbitrary imposition of life, since it is imposed without regard to the personal circumstances of the accused or the circumstances of the specific crime,” they said.
By UN experts
The nine experts monitor and report on issues such as indiscriminate, summary and arbitrary killings; arbitrary detention, and minimum rights.
They work on a voluntary basis and are independent from any Government or organization.
They are not UN staff and are not paid for their work.
