Home / News / Urgent Appeals / UPDATE (Singapore): Australian confirmed to hang on Friday December 2

UPDATE (Singapore): Australian confirmed to hang on Friday December 2

November 22, 2005

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL 

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME 

Update on Urgent Appeal 

22 November 2005 

[RE: FA-33-2005: SINGAPORE: Australian national faces imminent death by hanging; UP-128-2005: SINGAPORE: Australian confirmed to hang]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
UP-140-2005: SINGAPORE: Australian confirmed to hang on Friday December 2

SINGAPORE: Death penalty; Right to life; Right to fair trial; Rule of law
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information confirming that Singapore will go ahead with the execution of an Australian man convicted of drug smuggling. As reported in our previous forwarded appeal on 25 October 2005 (FA-33-2005) and urgent appeal on November 3 (UP-128-2005), Nguyen Tuong Van, 25, was sentenced to death for importing 396 grams of heroin into Singapore. He was convicted under the Misuse of Drugs Act, which carries a mandatory death sentence for anyone found guilty of trafficking in more than 15 grams of heroin. 

In October 2004 the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal against the death sentence. On 21 October 2005, his appeal for clemency was rejected by Singapore’s President. The Singaporean Foreign Minister then confirmed that the execution of the young man would go ahead, despite pleas for clemency from the Australian government, and from people protesting worldwide. It is now further confirmed that Nguyen will be hanged in Sinapore’s Changi prison on Friday December 2. A letter from the Singapore government confirming the immenent execution was sent to Nguyen’s mother. She has now left Australia for Singapore and will be allowed to visit her son in the three days before he is hanged. 

Even though Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) strictly restricts a sentence of death to be imposed only for the "most serious crimes" such as intentional murder, the Singapore government has been using the death penalty for non-violent drug offences. We have previously reported that two Africans were sentenced to death in Singapore on drug trafficking charges (See further: FA-22-2005). Also, in May 2005, a father of two children was hanged amidst the appeals from various human rights organization, including the AHRC, asking for clemency to save his life (for details see: UP-60-2005). There are also a number of other prisoners, including foreign nationals, facing the death penalty in Singapore (please see: UA-24-2003).

The AHRC strongly condemns the action of the Singapore government, which is a violation of the right to life, which is one of the most fundamental of human rights. It is also a clear violation of the ICCPR, which Singapore is a state party.
 
In light of this, and due to the extreme urgency in saving this young man’s life, we ask that you please write an appeal letter to the President of Singapore calling for moratorium on Nguyen’s execution. Please also urge the Singapore government to abolish the death penalty and, in the meantime, to establish a moratorium on all executions. We also recommend you to write to the embassies of Singapore in your respective country.

You can also join the Think Centre's online petition calling for the Singapore government's moratorium on death penalty at: http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=2657

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
----------------------------------
Sample letter:

Dear His Excellency

Please abolish your country’s death penalty and spare the life of a young Australian man

I write to you pleading for you to to spare the life of an Australian man facing execution in your country. I am aware that Nguyen Tuong Van will be hanged on Friday, December 2 following Singapore’s unwillingness to grant him clemency.

Though I understand that this young man was caught at Changi airport in possession of drugs, I am also reminded of the fact that the death sentence is a complete violation of the right to life, which is one of the most fundamental of human rights. It is also a clear violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Singapore is a state party. 

I therefore ask you to please show mercy towards this young man, and save him from his imminent execution. Likewise, I ask that you show mercy to all persons in Singapore facing execution and that you commence measures to have the death penalty abolished. 

Yours sincerely, 

---------------------------------
PLEASE SEND A LETTER TO:

The President
His Excellency S R Nathan
Office of the President
Istana, Orchard Road
Republic of Singapore 0922
Fax: +65 738 4673
Email: s_r_nathan@istana.gov.sg

PLEASE SEND A COPY TO:

1. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Office of the Prime Minister Istana Annexe,
Orchard Road
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE 0923
Fax: +65 732 4627
Email: lee_hsien_loong@pmo.gov.sg
[Salutation: Dear Prime Minister]

2. Prof. S. Jayakumar
Minister of Law
Ministry of Law
100 High Street
The Treasury #08-02
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE 179434
Fax: +65 6332 8842
Email: supmlaw@cs.gov.sg
[Salutation: Dear Minister]

3.  Chan Sek Keong
Attorney General
Attorney General's Chambers
1 Coleman Street #10-00
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE 179803
Fax: +65 6332 5984
[Salutation: Dear Attorney General]

4. Chief Justice Yong Pung How
Supreme Court
Supreme Court Building
St Andrew's Road
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE 178957
Fax: +65 6337 9450
Email: supcourt_registry@supcourt.gov.sg
[Salutation: Dear Chief Justice]

5. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Atten: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016, c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org

6. Mr. Miles Kupa
High Commissioner to Singapore
Australian High Commission
Level 2, 25 Napier Road
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE 258507
Tel: +65 6836-4100
Fax: +65 6735-1242

Thank you. 

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-140-2005
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.