KUALA LUMPUR: Hanging an intellectually disabled man because he was coerced into carrying less than three tablespoons of diamorphine is clearly unjustifiable, Reprieve a legal action non-governmental organisation (NGO) wrote on Twitter.
The NGO, comprising of investigators, lawyers and campaigners fighting for justice and defending people suffering human rights abuses worldwide, said this in a Twitter thread following Singapore's execution of Malaysian man, Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, this morning.
Reprieve noted that capital punishment in Singapore disproportionately targets drug mules rather than the drug lords that traffic or manipulate them.
"Most of its victims are, like Nagen (as he was known to his family), poor, vulnerable and from marginalised communities. This is a broken system.
"His name will go down in history as the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice.
"This is a watershed moment. With Nagen's plight igniting unprecedented protests calling for abolition of the death penalty, it's clear the tide is turning in Singapore.
"Nagen's execution is a flagrant violation of international laws that Singapore chose to sign up to. From rushed hearings to intimidation of Nagen's lawyers, this case has laid bare Singaporean authorities' hollow claims about affording due process.
"His last days were spent, like much of the last decade in torturous isolation of solitary confinement. He had to get the court's permission to hold his family's hands yesterday.
"Our thoughts are with his family, who never stopped fighting for him; their pain is unimaginable," the Twitter thread read.
Reuters earlier today reported that Nagen was executed on Wednesday in Singapore after a last-ditch legal challenge by his mother failed in a high-profile case that had attracted international calls for clemency.
Nagen, an intellectually impaired man with an IQ of 69, had been on death row for more than a decade for trafficking 44 grams (1.5 oz) of heroin into Singapore, which has some of the world's toughest narcotics laws.
His brother Navin Kumar, 22, told Reuters by telephone the execution had been carried out and said the funeral would be held in the town of Ipoh in Malaysia.
His case had attracted the support of celebrities, including British business magnate Sir Richard Branson as well as actor and writer Stephen Fry who had sent out a strong plea to Singapore to spare his life.
On April 20, Singaporean human rights lawyer M. Ravi had said a Singapore court has set April 27 as the execution date for Nagen.
The Singapore Court of Appeal on April 26 dismissed a legal challenge filed by Nagen's mother, Panchalai Supermaniam in a last-ditch attempt to save her son.
"May I hold my family's hands?", this was Nagen's last request on eve of execution, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on April 27.
The article reported that Nagen, clad in a purple prison uniform and stood in the dock behind a glass screen, did not argue with the court's decision but had only posed one question.
"I'd like to make a last-minute request to spend some time with my family members. I'm placing this request so I can hold my family members' hands. Here in court, Your Honour, I would like to hold my family members' hands, not in prison. May I please have permission to hold their hands here?," the article quoted Nagen as saying.
The court granted his request and Nagen placed his hands through a small gap in the screen to touch those of his mother and other relatives.