Today is the 10th of November. On this fateful day, Nagaenthran was meant to be sent to the gallows, from which he would have never returned. However, a mysterious and seemingly divine intervention occurred at the eleventh hour: Nagen's scheduled execution was put to a halt due to a serendipitous positive reading for COVID-19.
As of yesterday, Nagaenthran has been granted a stay of the judicial execution until all pending proceedings are concluded. Defence lawyer M Ravi told Boston Globe reporters that he was “pleasantly surprised” by Tuesday's development, and will be using the extra time to bolster his case. On hearing the news, he declared, “a state-sanctioned murder ... has been averted by a COVID disease. That seems to be the irony of this development today.”
The day before his court appearance, Nagaenthran had tested negative in an antigen rapid test, and was reported to be “well and asymptomatic”. Several inmates and staff of Institution A1, where Naga was housed, have also tested positive for COVID-19. Affected housing units have since been locked down to prevent further spread of the virus. According to the Singapore Prison Service, Nagaenthran will receive medical attention, and proceedings will resume on a date to be fixed after he has recovered.
The news of Nagaenthran contracting COVID-19 has received media attention from countries such as Romania, Switzerland, Thailand, Hong Kong and Portugal. Abolitionist Kirsten Han has also made a video appearance on ABC News (Australia) to report about the latest updates on Nagaenthran’s case. Kirsten mentions that in the 10 years since she has been involved in anti-death penalty activism, she has noticed a significant change in the public’s attitudes, with more Singaporeans being willing to question the efficacy and morality of capital punishment.
Last night, members of the public physically and virtually participated in a candlelight vigil held in Kuala Lumpur to demonstrate their solidarity with Nagaenthran. In addition, a clemency appeal letter signed by social service professionals, counsellors, healthcare workers, and community workers has been created. As of yesterday, more than 500 individuals and seven organisations have signed the letter.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) have also urged the Australian government to intervene. Barrister Graham Droppert writes in the ALA statement released today:
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights makes it clear that the use of the death penalty must be restricted to the most serious crimes and carrying drugs does not fall within this category ... Australia cannot stand by without expressing our strong opposition to the use of the death penalty, and our extreme concern about this disregard for human rights and international law.
The execution of Nagaenthran will be in breach of international law on this ground as well as being a violation for executing a mentally impaired person … The Australian Government must urgently lobby the President of Singapore to commute this sentence.
While campaigners are scrambling to halt the planned execution of Nagaenthran, Singapore's judicial system is being anatomised under the microscope by the international community. Just this afternoon, SBS News published a disquisition on the death penalty in Singapore.
Here are some excerpts from the article:
As more countries move to abolish the death penalty amid fierce international condemnation, Singapore is becoming increasingly isolated in its use of capital punishment … If Dharmalingam's appeal is unsuccessful, at least 25 inmates in Singapore are set to follow his fate on death row, and 75 percent of them are from minority groups.
Capital Punishment Justice Group chief executive Simone Abel told SBS News there is "no empirical data whatsoever" showing a link between the death penalty and a decrease in crime rates. "It is becoming increasingly obvious to the international community that the use of the death penalty in Singapore flies in the face of international law and that it is deeply flawed … It is important that Singaporean courts consider the issue of competency for execution, and understand that this is a different test to culpability for the commission of a crime," she said.
Singapore is notorious for having one of the world’s strictest drug laws, with its Misuse of Drugs Act stating that trafficking of more than 15 grams of heroin or 500 grams of cannabis is punishable by death.
Similarly, The Star columnist Nathaniel Tan astutely noted in an opinion piece, “despite how impressed we are supposed to be with the Singaporean government, I cannot recall ever hearing of even one truly important drug lord being investigated, much less arrested and charged.”
Two nights ago during a lifestream hosted by the New Naratif, anti-death penalty activist Kokila Annamalai observed that a lot of attention has been drawn to Naga’s intellectual disability, which has been emphasised to the exclusion of everything else. "More importantly, Nagen is someone,” she reminds us. "Nagen is somebody who had to start working as a young teenager to support his family. He is very affectionate and was always surrounded by friends. He is somebody that is deeply loved and will be dearly missed.”
Similarly, in a statement released a few days ago, human rights group We Who Witness poignantly and candidly illustrated their lived experiences as persons with disabilities:
People like Nagaenthran, people like us, face discrimination in our daily lives. We face discrimination in employment, find it harder to find acceptance, and are more likely to experience or be threatened with violence, abuse and exploitation. Many of us are driven to death by suicide by these messages and by an inaccessible society that tells us that our lives are less worth living. We ask you: In this context, what message would the execution of Nagaenthran tell us about our worth as persons with disabilities?
Nagaenthran is a person who has been disabled by society and by the courts, and now, after navigating a world and court system that was inaccessible to him, he faces the death penalty, the ultimate rejection of his humanity.
Therefore, it is vital that we reaffirm the message that the lives of persons with disabilities are cherished and worth living. It is crucial that we contemplate the fact that Naga is not merely an intellectually disabled man or a prisoner on death row; He is a son, a brother, a hard worker, a cousin, an uncle … but above all, he is a soul that is precious and worth saving.
Let’s continue to honour and embrace the humanity of Nagen, by steadfastly advocating for his life and liberation right to the very end.
(Pictured above: Activists at the candlelight vigil protesting against the impending execution of Nagaenthran.)