Activists in tightly controlled Singapore are planning a
last-ditch vigil in support of Australian drug trafficker Nguyen
Tuong Van, who is set to be hanged on December 2.
The protest - which would be the second this month - will likely be
held this weekend, Sinapan Samydorai, spokesman for rights group
Think Centre, said today.
Details have yet to be finalised, but the gathering will almost
certainly be held indoors as open-air gatherings require a police
permit.
"The form of expression in Singapore is limited because I don't
think we can protest in public, you need a licence, and that would
not be given," Sinapan said.
Nguyen, 25, was arrested at Changi Airport in December 2002 with
almost 400 grams of heroin in his hand luggage and taped to his
body.
After being convicted and losing his appeal, Singapore has rejected
all appeals for clemency from his family, the Australian government
and the Catholic Church.
Nguyen's mother Kim and his twin brother Khoa arrived in Singapore
overnight for a final series of visits before the death-row inmate
in hanged.
It was not clear exactly when they would see the condemned
man.
The government "we are dealing with do not want him to have a
second chance," Sinapan said. "The punishment is
disproportionate."
Singapore law imposes the mandatory death sentence for drug
trafficking, murder, kidnapping and a range of firearms
offences.
In consistently rejecting appeals for clemency, the Singapore
government has said that hanging traffickers helps to keep the
country safe.
Amnesty International has said Singapore probably executes more
people relative to its size that any other country worldwide.
Sinapan's Think Centre is one of very few civil society groups in
Singapore.
It regularly calls for the government to allow greater freedom of
expression and assembly. It also campaigns against the death
penalty.
The death penalty, like torture and slavery in the past, should be
rejected by all and has no place in a civilised society, the group
has said.
Sinapan and other local activists held a first vigil for Nguyen
November 7 at a downtown hotel.
The event was attended by about 100 people, a rare show of protest
against government policy here.
The next planned gathering will be "in solidarity with him and his
family", Sinapan said.
"It'll most probably be an indoor vigil or prayer. We are going to
call something like that," he said.
PROTEST???
