SINGAPORE hanged a 35-year-old Singaporean-Iranian man for drug trafficking today - its fourth in less than a month, despite appeals from Tehran to "reconsider" his execution.
Iranian-Singaporean Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, a 34-year-old man on death row for over a decade, was executed at Changi Prison.
Masoud was on death row for 14 years after being convicted of drug trafficking.
He was arrested at 20 years old and was found in possession of 31 grams of diamorphine, which in Singapore carries a mandatory death penalty under its anti-drug laws.
Appeals against his conviction and sentence, as well as petitions for clemency from the president, had been dismissed.
After he was informed of his impending hanging, Masoud filed an 11th-hour appeal to stay his execution, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal yesterday.
In a statement, the EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said it deplored the execution of Masoud.
"We strongly oppose the use of capital punishment in all cases and all circumstances.
The death penalty is incompatible with the inalienable right to life and is a cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. Imposing the death penalty for drug offences is incompatible with international law," it said.
It said the death penalty fails to act as a deterrent to crime and makes possible miscarriages of justice irreversible.
"We advocate for Singapore to adopt a moratorium on all executions as a positive first step towards its abolition.
We will continue to work for the abolition of the death penalty in the few remaining countries that still apply it,". - November 29, 2024
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