Death Penalty News

Malaysian national Prabagaran Srivijayan was executed by the state in the early morning of Jul 14 , years after multiple attempts failed to overturn his death sentence in 2014 for importing heroin into Singapore. Hangings in Singapore are always carried out on Fridays at dawn in Changi Prison, and it was outside the prison that 15 people gathered to hold a vigil for the young man. The group that congregated consisted of Prabagaran's family and friends, all of whom stood solemnly in solidarity. One of the attendees was none other than local journalist and anti-death penalty activist Kirsten Han, whose group We Believe In Second Chances has spoken out to oppose the execution of the young man (and many others before him). According to Han, the police dropped by the vigil to break up the crowd and film the whole thing, taking candles and photos along with them when they left. No explanation was provided, though the group was allowed to stay on as long as they didn...

S Prabagaran Malaysia will not interfere in other country's internal affairs, which includes a court case involving a Malaysian death row inmate in Singapore. "We are aware that there is an effort to put pressure to bring a particular court case here to a higher profile," Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Ilango Karuppannan told Bernama here. It was reported that a Malaysian death row inmate S. Prabagaran, aged 30, was making a judicial review application to direct the government to start proceedings against Singapore in the International Court of Justice over his conviction for drug trafficking. The Foreign Ministry and the Malaysian government were named as respondents in the application which was filed at the Malaysian High Court registry in January this year. The inmate was sentenced to death in September 2014 and had reportedly exhausted all appeals in the republic. Asked on how many Malaysians are on death row in Singapore, Ilan...

S Prabagaran The UN Human Rights Office for South East Asia calls on Singapore to halt the scheduled execution of Malaysian national S Prabagaran, and urges the government to immediately reinstate a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Prabagaran was convicted in 2012 after 22.24g of diamorphine, a pure form of heroin, was found in his car at the Singaporean immigration checkpoint. Under international law, the death penalty may only be used for "the most serious crimes", which has been interpreted to mean only crimes involving intentional killing.  Drug-related offences do not fall under the threshold of "most serious crimes". Furthermore, under domestic law, the death penalty is not mandatory for drug-related offences. "The death penalty is not an effective deterrent relative to other forms of punishment nor does it protect people from drug abuse. The focus of drug-related crime prevention should involve strengthening the justice sy...

"S Prabagaran has always maintained his innocence." Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has called on his country's Foreign Ministry to look into the case of S Prabagaran, reported Malaysiakini. Prabagaran a Malaysian is facing the death sentence here for drug trafficking. Anwar said that he would normally not want to comment on people facing drug trafficking charges, but he thinks this is a proper case to be brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Prabagaran was arrested on 12 April 2012 when he was just 24 years old, for a narcotic trafficking offence. He has been on death row for more than 4 years since 2012, and is awaiting the result of his clemency petition to the Singapore President. The Singapore Anti-Death Penalty activists who have been fighting to save Prabagaran, allege that he is being deprived of his life in a manner that is in breach of the principles of the separation of powers, the fun...

Prabagaran Srivijayan The judicial review bid by a Malaysian death row inmate in Singapore to compel the Malaysian government to take his case to an international court is not an "interference" in Singapore affairs, his lawyer N. Surendran said today. S. Prabagaran, 29, who is facing death sentence for drug trafficking in Singapore, and his mother V. Eswary, both filed the judicial review at a High Court here today, seeking leave to obtain a mandamus for the Malaysian government to institute legal action against Singapore at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). "We are not entering Singapore's affairs. It's just wanting justice done for a Malaysian citizen," he told reporters after filing the judicial review here today. "Malaysia has the right to raise any cases regarding the treatment of its citizens abroad," he added. Surendran said that such a case has never been filed by Malaysia before, but there have been precedents ...

Prabagaran Srivijayan A woman today pleaded with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to intercede on behalf of her son, Prabagaran Srivijayan, who was convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore and sentenced to die. V. Eswary, 54, said in an open letter to the PM that she was told her 29-year-old son received an "unfair trial". She said that the car he drove when he was arrested did not belong to him, but to a friend who lent it to Prabagaran. Prabagaran only used the car as he was afraid his motorcycle would be repossessed due to delinquent payments. "Prabagaran was caught by the police because there was 'stuff' in the car," Eswary said in the letter read out by a representative at a press conference here. "I was told by the lawyers that the proceedings and trial in Prabagaran's case were unfair. All his cases in the Singapore courts were rejected," she said. Eswary said she last met her son on Monday, when he broke ...

Prabagaran Srivijayan The argument put forward by activist groups in Singapore, led by lawyer M Ravi, is that core elements involving prevention and protection of right of life were ignored. Hindraf has come out in support of the call to have a Malaysian on death row in Singapore be given a reprieve. Hindraf chairman P Waytha Moorthy also urged Putrajaya to intervene and "ensure that a Malaysian life is not short-lived or falls prey to antics of Singapore without having an opportunity to preserve their life". "Singapore with its statutory presumption has failed to do what is necessary and in line with customary international law, where a notion of prevention is an important part of protection of the right to life. "They have an obligation to provide and facilitate this right including the duties to take reasonable measures to prevent such capital punishment rather than relying on a slapstick statutory presumption," he said in a statement re...

Singaporean M Ravi, founder of the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign S Prabagaran is to be executed in Singapore before the end of the month for trafficking drugs in the island republic. PETALING JAYA: Malaysian S Prabagaran, 29, is doomed to the gallows for trafficking drugs in neighbouring Singapore in 2012 and is set to be executed in a couple of weeks. But a prominent Singaporean lawyer and two of his Malaysian counterparts are racing against the clock to save his life. Singaporean M Ravi, who founded the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign is working with human rights lawyers Latheefa Koya and N Surendran to stop Prabagaran’s execution. Both Latheefa and Surendran are members of PKR. Surendran is also the Padang Serai MP. According to Singapore website The Independent, the Malaysian lawyers may file for a judicial review in the Kuala Lumpur High Court for an order to compel Putrajaya to file an immediate complaint at the International Court of Justic...

The family of a man executed in Singapore last week is dismayed at the handling of his funeral service and says he has been cremated against their wishes. Chijioke Stephen Obioha, 35, convicted of drug trafficking in 2007, was hanged on Friday morning after nearly a decade behind bars. His legal team, having only heard about the planned execution date a week prior from Amnesty International, made one final bid to save his life but it was dismissed by the court last Thursday evening. M. Ravi, a non-practicing lawyer in Singapore and part of Obioha’s legal team, says when lawyers contacted Singapore’s Roman Catholic Prison Ministry (RCPM) after the execution, they were initially told the body would be released by the prison service on Saturday morning and a funeral service for Obioha was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Obioha’s family wanted his body to be buried, in adherence to their religious practice and they had asked Ravi to attend the service, he says. But t...

Prabagaran Srivijayan 29 year old Prabagaran A/L Srivijayan has been condemned to death. The only thing that will prevent the execution is if the President pardons him, or if an appeal, which has been made to the court and is under consideration, actually succeeds. Caught at the Checkpoint Prabagaran was arrested by Immigration and Checkpoints Officers in Woodlands on April 2012 for attempting to bring in 22.24 grams of heroin. The drugs were found in a black bundle inside the centre arm-rest console next to the driver’s seat. Under Singapore’s laws against drug trafficking, if any unlicensed controlled drug is found in a vehicle, it is presumed to be in possession of the owner of the car, or of the person who was driving the vehicle. If the person is unable to give a satisfactory and convincing account that he was not aware that the drugs were in his car, he is guilty of drug trafficking. Prabagaran has consistently denied that he was aware of the drugs in the ve...

Screenshot from " Apprentice " by Jufeng Boo (2016) A recent survey on Singapore's opinion of the death penalty revealed a crushing amount of support for capital punishment. Conducted by government feedback agency Reach, the survey found that a staggering 80 % of Singapore residents supported the death penalty, while only 10 % voiced a need to abolish it. While majority of the nation stands firm in its belief in capital punishment, a small group with a large voice finds courage to stand up to the dominant narrative. The Singapore Anti Death Penalty Campaign (SADPC) has fronted multiple campaigns against the sentencing of death-row inmates over the last few years. This month, it's fronting another campaign. Led by human rights lawyer, Mr. M Ravi, the SADPC is now taking action to appeal the death sentence that has been dealt to Prabagaran a/l Srivijayan on the counts of drug trafficking. Prabagaran is a 29-year-old Malaysian who has been found guilty o...