A spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on Singapore today not to proceed with the execution of a man sentenced to death for smuggling a kilogram of marijuana, while, for its part, the city-state government accused the British of billionaire Richard Branson of spreading lies and disrespect for her justice system for calling for the life of a prisoner on death row to be spared.

“The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights received information about the imminent execution by hanging of Tangarazu Supia for allegedly using his phone to coordinate the cannabis trade. We are concerned about due process and fair trial guarantees,” the spokeswoman said.

British billionaire Richard Branson yesterday asked Singapore not to carry out an execution, stressing that the city-state in question “may be preparing to kill an innocent.”

Singapore’s Home Office, in response to Branson, said today that the city-state’s courts have spent more than three years trying the case and that Branson’s claim is “clearly untrue.”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Branson, wishing to support his position, claims to know more about the case than the Singaporean courts,” the ministry said.

Singaporean Tangarazu Supiya, 46, is to be executed by hanging tomorrow, Wednesday, according to the Singapore Central Narcotics Authority (CNB).

Tough penalties for smugglers

Supia was sentenced to death in 2018 for alleged involvement in the smuggling of 1.01 kilograms of cannabis, twice the amount punishable by death in Singapore, one of the most severely punished countries in the world.

“Actually, Tangaraz was nowhere near those drugs at the time of his arrest. This is pretty much a case based on assumptions,” wrote Branson, who is a member of the Washington-based Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP), on his Geneva blog.

“Killing those at the bottom of the illegal drug supply chain (…) is completely ineffective in stopping international trade, which brings in hundreds of billions of dollars every year,” he said, adding that he hoped the authorities would reconsider the case. .

On Sunday, Tankarazu Supiah’s family also asked the authorities to show leniency and also hold a new trial.

Branson, human rights activists and his family allege that Tangarazu Supia never received the cannabis he was convicted for and denounce the loopholes in the case against him.

In many countries, including neighboring Thailand, cannabis use is no longer a crime.

But Singapore believes that the death penalty remains an effective deterrent to smuggling. Over the past six months, the country has not had to carry out the sentence.

Singapore resumed executions in March last year after more than a two-year hiatus. Eleven convicts were executed last year, all for drugs.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.