Thank you for your continued support in our campaign to #SaveNagaenthran! However, our fight is far from over.
Recently, Human Rights Watch (HRW) dispatched a statement updating the international community about Nagaenthran's stay of execution. They point out the irony of Singapore's determination to hang a man with mental disabilities but not if he has a physical illness, emphasising that Nagaenthran's recovery from COVID-19 could cause him his life.
HRW Legal Advisor Linda Lakhdhir writes, "Nagaenthran’s story has highlighted not just the cruel absurdity of capital punishment, but the extra challenges faced by those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities in accessing true justice. Nagaenthran faced police questioning that failed to take into account his intellectual challenges, and inconsistencies in the statements he made during that questioning were then used both to convict him and to portray him as someone with a criminal mind."
She reminds us that this reprieve is temporary, and that his execution, if not halted by the court or a grant of clemency, will be permanent. As such, she urges those of us who advocated for him before the hearing to continue to do so urgently.
Further, the Malaysian Bar has once again appealed for the Singapore government to spare Nagaenthran's life on humanitarian grounds. Malaysian Bar president AG Kalida pleaded in a statement today, "We respect its sovereignty and laws, but what we are merely asking for is compassion to be extended to our citizen who has been medically diagnosed as being of impaired intellectual ability and has been languishing in a cell for more than ten years in a foreign country ... Given the reported further deterioration of Nagaenthran’s mental condition, we believe that a reconsideration of clemency is warranted."
Moreover, an opinion piece published on Malay Mail highlights the alleged lapses and misconduct on the part of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers involved in Nagaenthran's arrest. According to the article, Nagaenthran's long statement was not properly recorded and read back to him before he was asked to sign the same, and he was assaulted by one of the CNB officers present at his arrest.
The author also alludes to the fact that Nagaenthran was not accorded due process of the law. He inform us that under Singapore's Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), an accused is found unfit to plead if he or she falls under the definition of unsound mind. However, it was only after his trial and conviction that Nagaenthran was referred to the Institute of Mental Health for a forensic psychiatric evaluation.
Similar sentiments are echoed in another opinion letter submitted to the The Star, in which the writer contends that Nagaenthran did not receive due process of the law as asserted by the Singapore Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. The writer denounces the Singapore government's response as being "callous and untenable", commenting that "it totally ignores Nagaenthran's mental disabilities".
In Singapore, lawyers, law students, and other members of the legal industry have co-signed a letter appealing to President Halimah Yacob and the Cabinet of Singapore to grant clemency to Nagaenthran. The statement writes:
"As lawyers and members of the legal profession, we have encountered or represented many individuals who have come in conflict with the law. Many are from vulnerable backgrounds and live in poverty with few options in life. Sometimes, they commit illegal acts because their circumstances compel them to take the risks that come with breaking the law for a chance to earn money that will go towards their loved ones’ livelihoods and well-being."
The statement also emphasises the fact that Nagaenthran should be given a chance for rehabilitation and reintegration into society, as individuals who are from vulnerable communities needing greater access to social support, resources, and decently paying jobs.
"Humanity, compassion and justice are the hallmarks of the legal profession - many of us have vowed to serve all manner of people who may need the law and justice," the statement concludes.
Let's heed the advice of Human Rights Watch, and continue to speak out relentlessly about Nagaenthran's plight. This temporary reprieve is ephemeral. Nagaenthran's execution, however, will be permanent, definite, and irreversible.