A man was executed for drug trafficking and related offenses on Wednesday, July 26, marking the country’s first execution in 19 years.
The execution took place in Singapore, which is also set to hang a woman on Friday, July 28, prompting renewed calls to end capital punishment.
The man hanged was Mohammed Aziz Hussain, a 56-year-old citizen of Singapore, who was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 50 grams (1.75 ounces) of heroin. His execution was carried out at Changi Prison and has already taken place, confirmed activist Kirsten Han of Transformative Justice Collective, an organization advocating for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore.
The pending execution is of Saridewi Djamani, a 45-year-old Singaporean woman, who was convicted and sentenced in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams (1.05 ounces) of heroin.
The International Federation of Human Rights, represented by Secretary-General Adilur Rahman Khan, condemned Singaporean authorities for these executions and urged them to stop these “blatant violations of the right to life” while also reconsidering their drug policies.
The mandatory death penalty in Singapore applies to anyone, be it citizens or foreigners, convicted of trafficking more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces) of cannabis and 15 grams (0.53 ounces) of heroin.
Various human rights groups, including the Transformative Justice Collective, British business mogul Richard Branson, and the United Nations, have implored Singapore to cease capital punishment for drug-related offenses, citing increasing evidence that it is ineffective as a deterrent. However, Singaporean authorities maintain that due process is provided to all prisoners and argue that capital punishment is crucial in curbing drug demand and supply.
Critics claim that the country’s harsh drug policies fail to target the so-called drug kingpins, as Law Minister K. Shanmugam acknowledged in a 2022 interview. Instead, these laws disproportionately impact low-level traffickers and couriers, who are often recruited from marginalized groups with intersecting vulnerabilities.
As global momentum moves away from capital punishment, with countries like neighboring Thailand legalizing cannabis and Malaysia abolishing the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes, human rights groups are calling on Singapore to follow suit, cease all executions, and explore more humane ways to address drug trafficking in the nation.