The Wire

Amnesty International is calling for the Australian Government to step up its campaign to win clemency from the Singapore Government, to save 25-year-old Melbourne man, Van Nguyen from execution in Singapore. Mr Nguyen was stopped at Singapore’s Changi airport in 2002 and found to be carrying 400 grams of heroin and was subsequently convicted in 2004 of drug tracking, a penalty that carries with it a mandatory death sentence. Singapore’s President denied an appeal for clemency for Mr Nguyen on Friday and as a result, Van could be hanged within weeks. Today the Federal Government and Opposition traded insults over whether enough had been done to save Van Nguyen. The Federal Opposition and Mr Nygen’s lawyer, Lex Lazry QC, have both claimed the Australian government has not pressed the Singaporean government hard enough over the constitutional loopholes that allow for acts of mercy in such cases. Amnesty International’s Anti-death penalty campaigner, Tim Goodwin says the Australian government could do more to save Mr Nyugen from the gallows.

Amnesty International Australia