Malaysian human rights group Lawyers for Liberty is urging the government of Singapore to halt the hanging of Kalwant Singh, scheduled for Friday next week (July 7).
“Kalwant is unfortunately next on the long list of Malaysians whom Singapore has slated for the gallows; despite a barrage of criticisms it has received from the international community for its ruthless executions of low-level drug mules,” reads a statement from Zaid Malek, the Director of Lawyers for Liberty.
In a Facebook post on Thursday (June 30), activist Kirsten Han noted that Kalwant’s execution would be the seventh scheduled in 2022.
She listed the names of the men who have been scheduled for execution—“Roslan, Pausi, Rosman, Abdul Kahar, Nagaenthran, Datchinamurthy, and now Kalwant,” but noted that only “Kahar and Nagaen’s executions went ahead.”
The others, she added, “have either obtained stays or respite orders (which can be lifted at any time if the outstanding cases they have get dismissed).”
On March 30, Singapore carried out its first execution in more than two years. Singaporean Abdul Kahar bin Othman, 68, had been convicted on two charges of trafficking diamorphine in 2013 and was given the death penalty two years later.
Malaysian national Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose case gained international attention as he was said to have had an IQ of 69, was executed on April 27.
Kalwant, now 31, was convicted and sentenced to death on Oct 24, 2013, for trafficking 60.15 grams of diamorphine.
He was only 23 at the time of his arrest.
Lawyers for Liberty said in its statement that Kalwant “has always maintained that he never knew that the bundles he was carrying were drugs. He was still convicted mainly on the testimony of a co-accused person.”
The imposition of the death penalty for drug crimes has been declared by the UN to be in violation of international law and amounts to unlawful killing. Malaysia has taken positive steps towards its eventual abolition, with the long-standing moratorium and now the government’s undertaking to abolish mandatory death penalty. Singapore however, in contradiction to prevailing international norms, continues with its execution barrage,” the group added.
Lawyers for Liberty is “strongly” urging Singapore “to comply with international law” and stop Kalwant’s scheduled execution, as well as re-examine the death penalty policy. It also urged Malaysia’s government to make urgent representations to Singapore on behalf of its citizens on death row.
On Friday. (July 1), activist Kokila Annamalai confirmed that Norasharee bin Gous, a Singaporean, has also been scheduled for execution on July 7. Norasharee is Kalwant’s co-accused.
“Many who’ve paid attention to Norasharee’s case believe his conviction is unsafe because he was found guilty almost solely based on the testimony of Yazid, who himself escaped the death penalty by pointing a finger at Norasharee and Kalwant.
This got Yazid a certificate of cooperation from the AGC. Yazid’s testimony led to both Kalwant and Norasharee’s convictions, but especially in Norasharee’s case, there was little other evidence and the case turned on Yazid’s testimony,” wrote Ms Annamalai in a Facebook post. /TISG