Amnesty urges Singapore to halt execution of Malaysian

Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singaporean authorities to halt the execution of a Malaysian man convicted of drug trafficking amid concerns about the fairness of his trial.

Prabagaran Srivijayan, sentenced to death in 2012 after being accused of transporting 22.24 grams of heroin hidden in a vehicle, will be executed on Friday, according to his family who were informed last week.

In a statement, Amnesty stressed that Srivijayan was driving a borrowed vehicle and that he has proclaimed his innocence throughout the process, reports Efe news.

"There are only four days left to save Prabagaran Srivijayan's life before he is cruelly dragged to the gallows," James Gomez, Amnesty's Director for South East Asia and the Pacific, said.

"The Singaporean authorities must immediately halt his execution before another person suffers this inhumane and irreversible punishment," he added.

Srivijayan's defence have questioned the fairness of the trial, noting that authorities did not allow witnesses in favor of the accused to be called upon.

The lawyers have applied to the Malaysian Court of Appeal to refer Singapore to the International Court of Justice.

Since Singapore ended a moratorium on executions in 2014, authorities have handed out the death penalty on at least 10 occasions, including seven cases of drug trafficking.

In 2016 alone, four people were executed - two for murder and two for drug trafficking - and there are currently at least 38 people on death row.

--IANS

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