SINGAPORE Singapore carried out fifth death sentence in five months

After the pandemic, the city-state returned to carry out death sentences without acts of mercy. This is a 64-year-old man convicted in 2017 of possession of 33 grams of heroin. In the face of criticism, the government continues to maintain that the death penalty is a deterrent to would-be drug traffickers.

Singapore () – Singaporean Nazeri Lajim was executed today in the city-state after the court rejected the latest appeal to suspend his sentence. The public demonstrations that until the last moment had asked for an act of clemency for this 64-year-old man, convicted in 2017 of “drug trafficking” for possessing 33 grams of heroin, were of no use. According to the prosecution, that amount would have been enough to “feed the addiction of 400 drug addicts for a week.”

This is the fifth execution in five months, after two years of suspension due exclusively to the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of capital executions confirms the harshness of Singapore’s law, especially with regard to drug offences, as well as the intransigence of its application.

The age of the sentenced person was also in this case an additional element of disagreement for the human rights defense groups, as had happened -with more intensity and strong pressure even from abroad- with the execution that took place on 27 April 13, 13 years after his conviction, of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a Malaysian citizen who was likely mentally disabled.

These decisions have raised the voices of civil society against a use of the law that is considered excessively repressive. But the Singapore government again strongly defended the application of the death penalty. The last time was in an interview given to the British network BBC by the Minister of the Interior and Judge K Shanmugam, who maintained “strong evidence” that executions are “an effective deterrent for potential traffickers.”