GENEVA - We urge the authorities in Singapore to stop the imminent execution of Rosman Bin Abdallah for drug-related offences and to commute his sentence to an appropriate term of imprisonment.
Bin Abdallah was sentenced to a mandatory death penalty in 2010 for trafficking some 57 grams of diamorphine. Multiple appeals, including on the basis of his intellectual disabilities, as well as a petition for clemency, have been rejected. If carried out, this would be the third execution for drug offences in Singapore this month.
The use of the death penalty for drug-related offences is incompatible with international human rights law. There is increasing evidence showing the ineffectiveness of capital punishment as a deterrent.
We urge the Singaporean authorities to review their long-standing position on the death penalty, in line with the growing international consensus for abolition.
