A
Nigerian man who was arrested in 2007 with grammes of cannabis in
Singapore, and was charged, found guilty and sentenced to death under
Singaporean law, will be executed this Friday.
The deathrow convict, Chijioke Obioha
A Nigerian national, Chijoke Stephen Obioha, who had been on death
row in Singapore for possession of drugs, and had his appeal for
clemency rejected, will be executed this Friday (November 18) as Amnesty
International, on Wednesday, called on the Government of Singapore to
immediately halt the planned execution.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all
circumstances, regardless of the method of execution or the crime for
which it is imposed, and believes that there is no credible evidence
that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect.
According to Vanguard, Amnesty International’s Director for South-East Asia and the Pacific, Rafendi Djamin, said:
“The Singapore government still has time to halt the execution
of Chijoke Stephen Obioha. We are dismayed that clemency has not been
granted in his case, but remain hopeful that they won’t carry out this
cruel and irreversible punishment against a person sentenced to the
mandatory death penalty for a crime that should not even be punished by
death.
“The death penalty is never the solution. It will not rid
Singapore of drugs. By executing people for drug-related offences, which
do not meet the threshold of most serious crimes, Singapore is
violating international law.
“Most of the world has turned its back on this ultimate cruel,
inhuman and degrading punishment. It is about time that Singapore does
the same, starting by restoring a moratorium on all executions as a
first step towards abolition of this punishment.”
Background
Obioha was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilogrammes of
cannabis in April 2007, surpassing the amount of 500 grammes that
triggers the automatic presumption of trafficking under Singapore law.
Under Singaporean law, when there is a presumption of drug possession
and trafficking, the burden of proof shifts from the prosecutor to the
defendant.
This violates the right to a fair trial by turning the presumption
of innocence on its head. Drug-related offences do not meet the
threshold of the “most serious crimes” to which the use of the
death penalty must be restricted under international law. International
law also prohibits the imposition of the death penalty as a mandatory
punishment and Amnesty International opposes the use of the death
penalty outright, regardless of the crime.
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