Joint Local Statement on the death penalty case of Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj

The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom call on the Singapore authorities to halt the execution of Mr Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj and to commute his sentence to a non-capital sentence.

We express our opposition to the use of capital punishment, in all cases and in all circumstances. The death penalty is incompatible with the inalienable right to life and the absolute prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.

International human rights law restricts the use of capital punishment to the most serious crimes, understood as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing. Resorting to the death penalty to prevent drug production and trafficking does not meet this threshold. There is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty contributes to curbing or preventing drug trafficking more than other types of punishment.

Furthermore, it is a definitive punishment that renders it impossible to reverse possible miscarriages of justice.

We will continue to work for the abolition of the death penalty in the dwindling number of countries that still apply it. Therefore, we call for Singapore to adopt a moratorium on all executions as a first step towards its full abolition, in line with the trend in the Southeast Asian region and worldwide.