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Cambodian opposition party loses bid to overturn election ban

Cambodia’s main opposition party lost its bid to participate in the upcoming elections, allowing long-serving leader Hun Sen to run uncontested.

The ruling was upheld by the Constitutional Council, disappointing the Candlelight Party and shrinking the space for democracy in the country. Critics accuse Hun Sen of suppressing opposition and manipulating the legal system.

The party had gained popularity in local elections and aimed to challenge the ruling party in every constituency. Hun Sen’s grip on power continues, with his son being groomed as his successor.

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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Cambodia’s main opposition party on Thursday lost a bid to overturn its ban from the upcoming elections, paving the way for long-serving leader Hun Sen to run a one-horse race.

Last week, the National Election Committee (NEC) refused to register the Candlelight Party — the chief challenger to Hun Sen — for the July polls after it failed to submit certain documents.

The Constitutional Council said in a statement it had rejected the appeal against NEC’s ruling.

“We are so regretful… Our party was rejected (from the polls), we are so disappointed,” Candlelight Party (CP) spokesman Kimsour Phirith told AFP.

He said CP had hoped to take part in the elections “to restore the base of democracy in our country”.

“The absence of the party that has grassroots support will shrink the space of democracy.”

Hun Sen is among the world’s longest-serving leaders. Critics and rights groups accuse him of using the legal system to crush opposition to his rule, particularly in the run-up to elections.

The CP was seen as the only viable challenger to Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in the July 23 vote.

The party gained traction in last year’s local elections, claiming 22 percent of the popular vote, and was planning to challenge the CPP in every constituency in the national polls.

Hun Sen has threatened CP leaders with prison if they rally supporters and protest the ban.

Some key opposition politicians have been embroiled in criminal cases they say are politically motivated, while scores of activists have recently defected to Hun Sen’s camp.

A number of jailed opposition figures were also pardoned after they apologised to Hun Sen.

Some 9.7 million Cambodians have registered to vote in July for 125 MPs in the National Assembly.

Hun Sen is aiming to extend his 38-year rule, publicly backing his son Hun Manet to lead the kingdom in the future.

In 2018’s national elections, his party won every seat after the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved.

And in March this year, CNRP leader Kem Sokha was sentenced to 27 years in jail and placed under house arrest for treason over an alleged plot with foreigners to topple Hun Sen’s government.

Another opposition figure, Sam Rainsy, has been living in exile in France since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions he says are politically motivated.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

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1 year ago

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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