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Amnesty International (AI) on Monday pushed Singaporean authorities to immediately halt the execution of Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, scheduled for Wednesday, 8 October 2025. The Malaysian national was convicted of drug trafficking and has been on death row since 2017 for importing 51.84 grams of diamorphine (Heroin) into Singapore. Condemning the practice of mandatory death penalties for drug-related offenses and “multiple layers of unfairness” in Pranthaman’s case, AI deemed the case emblematic of the Singaporean justice system violating international law standards.
It was brought to international media attention as Pranthaman’s sister campaigned on behalf of her brother in an essay detailing their shared memories, her admiration for his poetry, and his potential contributions to society as a person. She also established an NGO to assist his case and others’ in a bid to change the Singaporean Justice system to address the root causes of drug trafficking instead of focusing on deterrence.
Pranthaman’s case allegedly shows deficiencies related to the human right to a fair trial (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 14) and the right to life (ICCPR Article 6). Under the Singaporean Misuse of Drugs Act, the death penalty is mandatory for drug offenses, save for two conditions: The accused must have only transported the drugs, therefore acting as a mere “courier”, and secondly, must be awarded with a certificate that he collaborated with the authorities by providing information which helps curb drug trafficking. While Pranthaman met the former requirement, yet denying any knowledge that he was in possession of the drugs, he was not awarded the certificate. AI criticized the decision process as generally intransparent and arbitrary. Furthermore, it condemned the fact that, as the conditions are not met, the decision on sentencing is effectively shifted to the prosecution.
This legal architecture, according to expert bodies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), violates international legal standards. Under Article 6 of the ICCPR, the mandatory imposition of DP is prohibited as it denies the possibility of taking into account any circumstances in a case and is reserved for the “most serious crimes.” As interpreted by the UN Human Rights Committee, this only encompasses acts involving intentional killing.
In contrast, in 2025 alone, Singapore executed 11 people by hanging, including 9 convicted of drug offenses. It is one of four countries alongside China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia where executions for such crimes were confirmed in 2024, while close to three-quarters of all countries have abolished the death penalty in practice or in law. Globally, however, this year executions reached their highest level since 2015.
The post Singapore urged to halt execution of Malaysian national for drug offense appeared first on JURIST - News.
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It was brought to international media attention as Pranthaman’s sister campaigned on behalf of her brother in an essay detailing their shared memories, her admiration for his poetry, and his potential contributions to society as a person. She also established an NGO to assist his case and others’ in a bid to change the Singaporean Justice system to address the root causes of drug trafficking instead of focusing on deterrence.
Pranthaman’s case allegedly shows deficiencies related to the human right to a fair trial (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 14) and the right to life (ICCPR Article 6). Under the Singaporean Misuse of Drugs Act, the death penalty is mandatory for drug offenses, save for two conditions: The accused must have only transported the drugs, therefore acting as a mere “courier”, and secondly, must be awarded with a certificate that he collaborated with the authorities by providing information which helps curb drug trafficking. While Pranthaman met the former requirement, yet denying any knowledge that he was in possession of the drugs, he was not awarded the certificate. AI criticized the decision process as generally intransparent and arbitrary. Furthermore, it condemned the fact that, as the conditions are not met, the decision on sentencing is effectively shifted to the prosecution.
This legal architecture, according to expert bodies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), violates international legal standards. Under Article 6 of the ICCPR, the mandatory imposition of DP is prohibited as it denies the possibility of taking into account any circumstances in a case and is reserved for the “most serious crimes.” As interpreted by the UN Human Rights Committee, this only encompasses acts involving intentional killing.
In contrast, in 2025 alone, Singapore executed 11 people by hanging, including 9 convicted of drug offenses. It is one of four countries alongside China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia where executions for such crimes were confirmed in 2024, while close to three-quarters of all countries have abolished the death penalty in practice or in law. Globally, however, this year executions reached their highest level since 2015.
The post Singapore urged to halt execution of Malaysian national for drug offense appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.