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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Malaysia: Clemency Board urged to commute death sentence imposed on Shahrul Izani Suparman

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Shahrul Izani Bin Suparaman
Shahrul Izani Bin Suparaman
Shahrul Izani was sentenced to death in Malaysia in 2003 for possessing 622 grams of cannabis. He was 19 years old. It was his first criminal offense.

After spending more than six years in detention awaiting trial, Shahrul Izani was convicted of drug trafficking and mandatorily sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court on 28 December 2009.

The Court of Appeal heard and dismissed his appeal on the same day on 12 October 2011. Similarly, on 26 June 2012 the Federal Court heard and dismissed his appeal. 

In 2014, Shahrul Izani applied for clemency before the Pardon Board of Selangor state. He has now exhausted all his appeals, and could be executed at any time.

Malaysia’s use of the death penalty violates international law and standards. Drug-related offences do not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes” for which the death penalty can be imposed under international law. Furthermore Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act provides for the mandatory death penalty for anyone found guilty of drug trafficking or assisting others to traffic illegal substances. 

Mandatory death sentences, even for the most serious crimes, are contrary to international law as they do not allow judges any possibility of taking into account the defendant’s personal circumstances or the circumstances of the particular offence. 

Of additional concern is the fact that anyone found in possession of certain amounts or more of specified substances, or who is found to have custody over buildings or vehicles in which these substances are found, is automatically presumed to be trafficking drugs.

While in July 2012 the Malaysian government announced plans to review its mandatory laws relating to drug offences, it has yet to introduce amendments to bring national legislation in line with international law and standards on the use of the death penalty.

Click HERE and HERE to sign an online Amnesty International petition urging the Clemency Board to commute his death sentence (et ICI pour signer la pétition d'Amnesty International France).

Source: Amnesty International, September-October 2015

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com
Location: Malaysia
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