The Hague/New York/Kuala Lumpur:

PGA strongly condemns the execution of Mr. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam on 27 April 2022, which testifies to the failure of the Singaporean judicial system and of Malaysian authorities to protect and uphold the most fundamental principles under international human rights law: the right to life and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment. Despite international calls and statements, including by PGA and its President, Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP (Malaysia), to halt the execution and commute the death sentence to imprisonment, the execution took place in violation of international law.

I am deeply saddened and appalled by the execution of Mr. Nagaenthran by Singaporean authorities. The death penalty has once again been used on a marginalised and underprivileged person with an IQ of 69. Mr Nagaenthran was, after all, only a drug mule. What had befallen him can happen to any one of us - one can sometimes pay dearly with their life being in the wrong place at the wrong time, when being used by wrong people. This case is even more tragic and unacceptable as under international law, the imposition and enforcement of the death penalty on persons with mental disabilities constitutes a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Hon. Kasthuri Patto, MP (Malaysia), PGA’s President

The case demonstrates another reality that the persons with disabilities face in judicial proceedings. Mr. Nagaenthran was not provided with required support and accommodation for his disabilities to facilitate his effective participation in his trial, nor procedural accommodations to ensure a fair trial and due process. As highlighted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the lack of procedural accommodations violates the right to a fair trial and may lead to effective exclusion from proceedings and/or being subjected to unfair sentences.”

The use of capital punishment is not only often associated with the risk with a miscarriage of justice- which leads to irreversible tragic consequences- but it has been also proven to be ineffective to deter crimes. PGA calls on all retentionist States to adopt a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, with a view towards its full abolition. In the meantime, PGA further urges States to remove from national law any death penalty provisions which are in breach of international human rights hard or soft law, such as:

• Its mandatory imposition to all crimes;
• Its imposition for crimes which do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes”, including drug- related offences.
• Its imposition for crimes committed by children (persons below 18 years), the application of the death penalty on pregnant or nursing women, or people with mental or intellectual disabilities, or the elderly.