Earlier this week, Singapore's top court heard the final appeal by Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, an intellectually disabled Malaysian Tamil man who has been sitting on death row since 2010.
Dharmalingam was convicted on charges of carrying a meagre 42.72 grams of heroin into Singapore, a country that has received widespread criticism over its harsh drug laws.
Dharmalingam was set to be executed in November 2021. However, his lawyers filed a last-minute appeal to prevent the execution, and after countless delays, the court heard the appeal on 1 March. The five-judge panel decided to reserve its judgement and reconvene at a later date.
The 33-year-old's attorneys have expressed concern over his mental state, asking the judges for "mercy" in granting him an independent psychiatric assessment, highlighting it is against international law to execute mentally disabled individuals.
Dharmalingam's mother has released a video statement asking for the public's support. According to Reprieve, she has also applied for clemency on Dharmalingam's behalf.
Tomorrow, Nagaenthran Dharmalingam will be going to court in his last attempt to stop his execution in Singapore.
— Reprieve (@Reprieve) February 28, 2022
This is his mum's plea to the Prime Minister of Singapore, @leehsienloong. #SaveNagaenthran https://t.co/bcYwKyFHEC pic.twitter.com/G6LXxX3iJk
Those with intellectual disabilities are exempt from execution.
In a psychiatric evaluation done after Dharmalingam's conviction in 2010, he was assessed to have "borderline functioning intelligence and concurrent cognitive deficits." Those experts noted that his cognitive deficits "may have contributed toward his misdirected loyalty and poor assessment of the risks in agreeing to carry out the offence." Death penalty opponents say Nagaenthran's IQ was disclosed during the trial as 69, a level that is internationally recognized as an intellectual disability. They say he was also found to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a drinking disorder that together could affect his judgment, decision making and impulse control.
Speaking to Reprieve, Dharmalingam's brother said, "I don't think he has any idea that he's going to be executed. When I visited him, he talked about coming home and eating home-cooked food with our family. It broke my heart that he seemed to think he was coming home."
Dharmalingam as an alleged courier
According to Reprieve, in 2009, Dharmalingam "approached a man he knew for a loan of RM500 (less than £100) so that he could support his father who was about to have a heart operation." However, "The man took advantage of Nagen's desperate circumstances and coerced him into carrying a small package of illegal drugs across the Singaporean border in return for this meagre sum."
In 2015 he requested that he be sentenced to life imprisonment and despite qualifying as a "courier," a person limited to only the transportation of drugs, the prosecutor dismissed the appeal in 2017.
The outpour of support for Dharmalingam
Dharmalingam's case has received international attention, with countless human rights activists and policymakers calling for his release. Some of the many groups which have released statements in his support include the United Nations, the European Union, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights.
One petition calling for his release gained over 100,000 signatures.
Last year, Amnesty International called on the Singaporean government to cease his execution, stating; "Taking people's lives is a cruel act, but to hang a person convicted merely of carrying drugs, amid chilling testimony that he might not even fully understand what is happening to him, is despicable."
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