[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE

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17 November 2005

Further Information on UA 279/05 issued 24 October
2005 - Imminent Execution

SINGAPORE:
Van Tuong NGUYEN (m), aged 25, Australian national

Van Tuong Nguyen will be hanged on 2 December,
according to a letter his family received on 17 November
from the government of Singapore. Executions are usually
carried out at dawn.

The President had rejected an appeal for clemency on 21
October.

Van Tuong Nguyen was arrested at Singapore's Changi
airport in transit from Cambodia to Australia in December
2002, after police found a package of heroin strapped to his
back and a second package in his backpack.

Van Tuong Nguyen was sentenced to death for importing
396.2 grams of heroin into Singapore. He was convicted
under the Misuse of Drugs Act, which carries a mandatory
death sentence for anyone found guilty of trafficking in
more than 15 grams of heroin.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Singapore, with a population of just over four million, is
believed to have the highest per capita execution rate in the
world. More than 420 people have been executed since
1991, the majority for drug trafficking. The Singapore
government has consistently maintained that the death
penalty is not a human rights issue. The Misuse of Drugs
Act provides for a mandatory death sentence for at least 20
different offences and contains a series of presumptions
which shift the burden of proof from the prosecution to the
defence. Prisoners facing execution may be granted
clemency by the President, but this is extremely rare.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to
arrive as quickly as possible:
- urging the authorities to commute the death sentence
imposed on Van Tuong Nguyen, who is scheduled to hang
on 2 December;
- urging them to impose a moratorium on executions, with
a view to complete abolition, in line with the April 2005
UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) resolution on
the question of the death penalty;
- noting that the UNCHR has urged states which still
maintain the death penalty not to impose it as a mandatory
sentence, or for crimes without lethal or extremely grave
consequences.



APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister
LEE Hsien Loong
Prime Minister's Office
Istana, Orchard Rd
Singapore 238823
Fax: 011 65 6332 8983
Email: lee_hsien_loong at pmo.gov.sg
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

Minister of Law
Prof. S. Jayakumar
Ministry of Law
100 High Street
The Treasury #08-02
Singapore 179434
Fax: 011 65 6332 8842
Email: jayakumar_s at mfa.gov.sg
Salutation: Dear Minister

Attorney General
Chan Sek Keong
Attorney General's Chambers
1 Coleman Street #10-00
Singapore 179803
Fax: 011 65 6332 5984
Email: agc at agc.gov.sg
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

COPIES TO:
Ambassador Heng Chee Chan
Embassy of the Republic of Singapore
3501 International Place NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 5370876
Email: singemb.dc at verizon.net or
singemb_was at sgmfa.gov.sg

Please send appeals immediately. Check with the
Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm,
Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after
December 2, 2005.


Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax:     303 258 7881

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
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