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21 July 2022
Joint local statement on the death penalty case of Nazeri bin Lajim in Singapore
The Delegation of the European Union issues the following statement together with the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and the diplomatic missions of Norway and Switzerland in Singapore:
The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland call on the Singapore authorities to halt the execution of Nazeri bin Lajim and to commute his sentence to a non capital sentence.
The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland recall that the EU and our countries strongly oppose the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances which can never be justified, and advocate for Singapore to adopt a moratorium on all executions as a positive first step towards its abolition.
Today, more than two thirds of the countries of the world have become abolitionist in law or practice, which confirms a global trend in favour of the abolition of the death penalty. No evidence exists to show that the death penalty serves as a more efficient deterrent to crime than imprisonment. Moreover, rehabilitation as an objective of modern criminal law is rendered impossible by the application of capital punishment. Furthermore, any errors inevitable in any legal system are irreversible.
The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland will continue to actively work to further the universal trend towards the eradication of the death penalty.