Stop double executions tomorrow, urges Amnesty
The executions of two brothers, convicted of murder, are expected to be carried out at the Kajang Prison tomorrow.
PETALING JAYA: Brothers Rames Batumalai, 44, and Suthar, 39, have less than 12 hours before they face the noose after being found guilty of murder.
Amnesty International Malaysia, in a statement today, urged the authorities to stop the execution in view of a pending clemency application.
It said the clemency application was submitted to the Negri Sembilan Pardons Board today by Haresh Mahadevan & Co, and it must be given time to review the application.
“The executions must not go on,” Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said tonight. “No executions must be carried out while appeals are pending.”
Amnesty learned that Rames and Suthar were to be executed at Kajang Prison tomorrow morning.
“The family is distraught and is appealing to the Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negri Sembilan to spare their lives,” she said.
The family was only informed yesterday that they should visit the brothers for the last time today ahead of their execution “soon”.
The brothers were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of a murder committed on Feb 4, 2006.
Shamini said international law prohibited the use of the mandatory death penalty.
“The death penalty can never be justified regardless of the crime committed. The authorities must immediately take steps to prevent this double execution.”
Amnesty believes the brothers were convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence alone, Shamini said.
During the trial, the brothers claimed they had intervened to stop two other men from attacking and killing the deceased. Their claims were disregarded by the High Court.
The court also failed to call a key witness, the deceased’s wife, to testify, Amnesty said.
It said the testimony could have corroborated the brothers’ version of the facts and the involvement of the two other men in the murder.
“The 1984 UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty provide that the death penalty be imposed ‘only when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence, leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts’.”
Shamini said this had not been made clear in this instance.
Amnesty has issued an “urgent action” to its global network to intervene on the executions and is also appealing to the Ruler of Negeri Sembilan to stop the executions.
“The lack of transparency around executions in Malaysia is a violation of international law and standards.
“Families must have sufficient time to prepare for the last visit and take any further recourse available at the national or international level,” Shamini said.
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Amnesty maintained there was no conclusive evidence that the death penalty had a unique deterrent effect on crime. It urged Malaysia to impose a moratorium on executions immediately.