Singapore Executes Iranian-Singaporean Citizen Despite Appeals

An Iranian-Singaporean citizen was executed in Singapore on Friday, December 9, despite calls from human rights activists and an official request from Iran's Foreign Minister. The Iran Human Rights Organization reported on December 7 that the death sentence of Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, convicted for drug possession, was set to be carried out on December 9. Masoud Rahimi was arrested 14 years ago at the age of 20 for possessing 31 grams of diamorphine in Singapore and was sentenced to death. Born in Singapore to a Singaporean mother and an Iranian father, he was taken to Iran as a child due to his parents' separation and completed his high school education in the United Arab Emirates. The Iran Human Rights Organization reported that the Justice Transformation Collective (TJC) highlighted several violations of fair trial principles in Rahimi Mehrzad's case. Before the execution, Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer, appealed to the President of Singapore for clemency for Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad. Sotoudeh, a recipient of multiple international awards, including the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and the Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, wrote in a letter to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam that she was certain that his pardon could positively impact the fight against the death penalty in Iran. The European Human Rights Award winner urged the Singaporean president not to deny this opportunity to the Iranian civil society and to assist in the struggles in Iran using his legal authority. This human rights lawyer sent her letter to the Singaporean president as 'someone opposed to the death penalty living in a country with the highest execution rate in the world.' The request to halt Rahimi's execution was also supported by the Iran Human Rights Organization. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, the head of this organization, stated, 'The death penalty has never prevented drug-related crimes, and we hope the President of Singapore will save Masoud's life by issuing a pardon.' Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, also requested a review of the death sentence in a conversation with his Singaporean counterpart on Thursday, December 8. Singapore has some of the strictest drug laws in the world, and the issuance of death sentences in this country has previously been controversial.