Halt the execution of Muhammad Ridzuan
| Publisher | International Federation for Human Rights |
| Publication Date | 18 May 2017 |
| Cite as | International Federation for Human Rights, Halt the execution of Muhammad Ridzuan, 18 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/591eb2734.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Singaporean authorities must immediately halt the planned execution of Muhammad Ridzuan and establish an official moratorium on all executions, FIDH said today. Ridzuan, a Singaporean national, is scheduled to be executed by hanging on 19 May 2017.
On 15 May 2017, authorities notified Ridzuan's family that President Tony Tan had denied his request for clemency.
On 10 April 2013, Singapore's High Court imposed a mandatory death sentence on Ridzuan for possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, after he was found in possession of 72.5 grams of heroin on 6 May 2010. On 27 February 2014, the Court of Appeal dismissed Ridzuan's appeal against his conviction and sentence.
The Public Prosecutor denied Ridzuan a certificate declaring that he had "substantively assisted the Central Narcotics Bureau in disrupting drug trafficking activities within or outside Singapore." This certificate of assistance would have limited Ridzuan's sentence to life in prison. This decision was made despite the fact that the Public Prosecutor granted a certificate of assistance to his co-defendant, who was sentenced to life in prison and caning. Ridzuan's application to reverse the Public Prosecutor's decision to deny him a certificate of assistance was dismissed by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Accordingly, his death sentence was upheld.
Ridzuan has spent more than seven years in prison, including more than four years awaiting execution.
International law reserves the death penalty for the "most serious crimes," a threshold that international jurisprudence has repeatedly stated drug-related offenses do not meet.
If Ridzuan is hanged, it will be the third documented execution in Singapore since the beginning of the year. On 17 March 2017, Singaporean authorities executed an unknown individual. On 21 April 2017, Singaporean authorities executed Jeffrey Marquez Abineno, 52, for drug trafficking. While the government publishes annual statistics on the total number of executions, it consistently fails to make public announcements concerning upcoming hangings and to reveal the number of prisoners on death row.
FIDH, a member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP), reiterates its strong opposition to the death penalty for all crimes and in all circumstances. FIDH calls on the Singaporean government to reinstate the moratorium on executions that was lifted in July 2014, and to make progress towards the abolition of capital punishment for all crimes.
