Thanks to your support, our petition to #SaveNagaenthran has almost reached 100K signatures! Although Nagaenthran's court hearing was scheduled for yesterday, the hearing has once again been postponed to some time in January next year, as per the request of defence lawyer M. Ravi.

In addition, Amnesty International has once again urged Singapore to call off the execution of Nagaenthran. In a press release published this morning, Amnesty International’s Singapore Researcher Rachel Chhoa-Howard asserted:

"Singapore authorities must listen to the global outcry against executing Nagaenthran, whose case has shocked people around the world. This appeal hearing provides an opportunity to call off this horrific punishment against a man who may not fully understand what is happening to him." 

"Nagaenthran’s case has been marred by multiple human rights violations including deep concerns about Nagaenthran’s intellectual disability, which UN experts have stressed would render his execution unlawful. Recent testimony from his family and lawyer about his current mental health condition reinforces these concerns."

"Singapore must act now to avoid a stain on its international reputation by commuting Nagaenthran’s sentence, and another case like this by urgently reforming its use of the death penalty, and introducing a moratorium on executions as first steps towards full abolition of this cruel punishment."

Furthermore, UK-based rights group Reprieve has also condemned Singapore's decision to execute Nagaenthran. In an Associated Press news article released a few days ago, Reprieve’s director Maya Foa commented:

“Naga is at risk of imminent execution even though he should be protected from the death penalty because of his intellectual disability, and as a victim of trafficking ... Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made clear his commitment to champion the rights of persons with disabilities. Allowing this travesty of justice to take place would fly in the face of those promises."

According to an article by the Malay Mail, Nagaenthran’s conviction has also reignited calls for abolishment to capital punishment in Malaysia, with some activists urging against the execution through pleas for clemency on humanitarian grounds.

Amnesty International Malaysia also voiced its opposition against capital punishment in all cases, citing that it is a violation of the right to life, and has called on the Malaysian government to continue observing the moratorium on all executions until the death penalty is fully abolished.

Moreover, the recently appointed chairperson of the International Board of Amnesty International Anjhula Singh Mya Bais has attested that, from her perspective as a professional psychologist, someone with Nagaenthran’s condition simply does not have the mental capacity to make sound decisions. She criticised the inadequate mental health care in the country, and commented that Nagaenthran needs to be rehabilitated with mental health assistance rather than executed.

Activist Angelia Pranthaman has similarly appealed to Singapore to spare the lives of both Nagaenthran and her brother who is also on death row, urging Singapore to "respect human lives and to embody humanitarian values by upholding the penitentiary and judicial standards of a first-world country." 

Thanks to the postponement of Nagaenthran's appeal hearing, we can continue our advocacy efforts to #SaveNagaenthran. In life-and-death situations such as this, any extra time is precious.