Singapore Executions Touch 22-Year High on Drug, Murder Offenses
Amnesty International activists hold a banner in solidarity with Pannir Selvam, a Malaysian man awaiting execution for drug trafficking, outside Singapore's embassy in Kuala Lumpur in May.
Photographer: Hari Anggara/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Singapore has executed 17 individuals this year on drug and murder offenses, marking the highest annual tally since 2003 amid renewed debate over the city-state’s use of the death penalty.
Over two days last week, three convicted drug traffickers were executed: Singaporean Mohammad Rizwan bin Akbar Husain, 44; another Singaporean whose name wasn’t released; and Saminathan Selvaraju, 42, a Malaysian. The hangings come ahead of a Dec. 3 hearing in which activists will seek to challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty.