How to stay safe on social media

Violence and abuse is widespread online, particularly against women. Here are some tips on what you can do if you experience abuse or see someone else experiencing it.

1. Identify abuse

Online violence and abuse has become a far too common experience. And women suffer most. Our online poll found that 23 per cent of women across eight countries had experienced online abuse or harassment on social media platforms.

Online abuse takes many forms, including threats of violence, discrimination, harassment, doxxing (revealing personal or identifying documents) and sharing sexual and private images without consent. It can also include content that is sexist, racist, homophobic or targets someone’s identity.

2. Report them

Everyone will deal with violence and abuse online differently. But whether the abuse is directed at you or someone else, the first step you can take is to report abuse to the platform. Twitter’s own rules say that hateful conduct and abuse is prohibited on the platform and reporting such content can help make sure other users don’t see it in the future.

Reporting abuse can also be helpful when an official police complaint is made. Twitter tells you how reports of abuse on the platform can be downloaded for evidence.

Find out how to report abuse on Facebook and Instagram.

3. Mute them

Most social media platforms give you the option to mute accounts without blocking or unfollowing them.

Here’s how to mute an account on Twitter. Advanced muting options* on Twitter allow for words and hashtags to be muted – this is helpful for people who may be triggered by specific words or references to abusive content on the platform.

You can also mute a person’s posts on Facebook. By doing this, you’ll hide that person’s posts from your newsfeed without having to take the drastic step of unfriending them.

*Advance muting on Twitter means that you may not be able to receive non-abusive content and opportunities to interact with other users on the platform. This function can also prevent you from knowing if you have become a target of violence and abuse on the platform from people you have muted.

4. Block them

There will be times when reporting and muting accounts is just not enough. This is where blocking comes in. Most social platforms will allow you to block offending accounts so that they can no longer interact with you or view your content when they are logged on.

Here’s how to block accounts on Twitter. Remember that although blocking accounts removes the Tweets from your feed and limits the ability of blocked users to directly interact with you – it does not stop blocked users from mentioning your name in abusive Tweets or abusing others.

Find out how to block abusive accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

5. Disable your location

Disabling your location on your social platforms is an important way to protect yourself online. Disabling your location may be useful as it means that people will be less able to easily monitor or track your whereabouts or activities.

If you are using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook on your mobile, you have the option to enable or disable your location for each Tweet or post.

Here’s how to disable location services on Facebook and Instagram.

6. Disable location on your photos

Smartphones store metadata in your photographs, including the location. If your location services are turned ‘on’ for your camera and you post an image to your social media account the image can be used to pinpoint your location, even if you’ve turned off location services. To protect your location you can choose to disable location for all services like images, videos, or any platform you are posting images to.

7. Setting a strong password

This is online protection 101.

Use a new, different, password for each social media site you use. Reusing the same password across lots of sites means that only one of those sites has to get hacked to put your digital identity at risk.

Most people find ‘passphrases’ easier to remember than passwords – here is a good approach to picking passwords and phrases that are strong and easy to remember.

8. Two factor authentication

A good way to help avoid your account being hacked is to enable two factor authentication on all of your social media accounts. In doing this, you’ll be adding another layer of security to your account.

You can set this up by going to your privacy settings in your Twitter account and your security and login settings on Facebook.

9. Filter notifications

You can choose to filter any notifications you receive from users on Twitter. For example, you can choose to not receive notifications from accounts that you don’t follow on Twitter.

Remember, filtering your notifications means that you will not be notified if you have become a target of abuse by someone you do not follow.

10. “I don’t like this Tweet”

You can also mark individual Tweets as “I don’t like this Tweet”. This enables Twitter to understand what you would rather not see in your feed and can help tailor a better experience.

11. Make your account private

By default, your social media accounts are public. You do, however, have the option to restrict your Facebook account to friends only, protect your Tweets and set your photos and videos to private on Instagram.

By making your accounts private, only your approved followers can see your Tweets and posts and interact with you. It’s worth remembering, though, that your current profile and cover photos on Facebook are always public, even if your account is private.

12. Detox

While maintaining your online presence may be necessary, it is also important to keep in mind that online abuse can have a harmful psychological impact and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the abuse.

When experiencing abuse or seeing others experience abuse online, a digital detox can be just the thing you need. Taking regular breaks and time away from social media can be helpful.

Most social media platforms allow users to temporarily or permanently deactivate their account, with each platform giving detailed instructions on how to do that. Find out how to deactivate your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

13. Useful resources

You can find out more about protecting yourself online by checking out the resources on Hollaback!, Feminist Frequency and Women’s Media Center.

A message from Kumi Naidoo

A message to Amnesty International Australia members from Secretary General Kumi Naidoo. 

Dear Friends at Amnesty International Australia,

I’m Kumi Naidoo and, as some of you know, I joined Amnesty International as Secretary General in August this year. I’m sorry I could not join you in person for your annual general meeting but I wanted to send a short message in solidarity as you meet this year.

I take up the leadership of Amnesty at a time when the world is facing incredibly complex challenges. In response, I believe our global movement needs to be bigger, bolder and more inclusive, if we are to tackle the challenges that people face today.

I deeply admire all of the tireless work you are doing in Australia. Policies of offshore detention and separation of families in response to people seeking asylum are horrendous and deserve our continued focus. Furthermore, we need to continue to be a voice for the most vulnerable people in Australia, particularly Indigenous communities. I had the opportunity to attend the Garma festival several years ago and was deeply inspired by what Indigenous Peoples themselves in Australia are doing to advance their human rights. I am shocked to learn of the disproportionate rates of incarceration of Indigenous youth and reports that children are being held in solitary confinement.

Australia’s election to the UN Human Rights Council provides an important avenue for our advocacy for it to improve its own human rights record. Please don’t underestimate the impact that each and every one of you have in our fight for justice and equality for all. As a lifelong activist it is my belief that the struggle for justice is not determined by the big sacrifices of the few but the modest sacrifices of the many. Your work campaigning, supporting and developing supporters, raising funds and keeping our systems ticking over in this incredibly complex movement are invaluable. Activism takes many forms and every contribution is precious.

I look forward to visiting Australia soon, hopefully in 2019, and meeting all of you. I wish you an energising annual general meeting and I look forward to hearing about the outcomes of your deliberations. Thank you very much.

Racial Discrimination Act: the two-minute version

On this day 43 years ago, the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) came into effect. But what is the RDA and why is it important?

What is the Racial Discrimination Act?

It’s pretty simple, really. The RDA is a law passed in 1975 by the Whitlam government to make sure everyone in Australia was treated equally and given the same opportunities – regardless of their background.

The Act was last updated in 1995 after three major national inquiries – the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody – the National Inquiry into Racist Violence and the Australian Law Reform Commission Report into Multiculturalism and the Law – found a strong link between racist conduct in public and racially-motivated violence. This is not something unique to Australia. In the 10 days following Donald Trump’s victory, 900 reports of harassment and intimidation were reported from around the US.

At the core of the changes made in 1995 is Section 18C, which makes it unlawful for someone to “offend, insult or humiliate” a person based on the colour of their skin or their cultural background. It also provides recourse for victims of racism to make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), which then tries to resolve the complaint before it goes to court. And the AHRC actually does this really well – in 2015-2016, only one complaint went to court, and in the past five years only three per cent of finalised complaints proceeded to court.

The lesser known Section 18D, brought in at the same time, exempts artistic works, academic and scientific debate and “fair and accurate” reporting of any events or matters of public interest made “reasonably” and in “good faith”.

Why does the RDA regularly make headlines?

Well, in 2014, for the first time in almost 20 years, the Australian Government announced its intentions to make changes to the Act, when Attorney-General George Brandis released draft changes to the RDA. Brandis argued the RDA amounted to “political censorship”, while the laws he proposed were “the strongest protections against racism that have ever appeared in any Commonwealth Act.”

Incidentally, when talking about his proposed changes to the RDA, Brandis claimed that Australians have “the right to be bigots”.

Critics of the RDA claimed that free speech in Australia is too heavily restricted, whilst those in support of the Act argued that the proposed changes would green light racism across the country.

Amnesty made a submission in 2014 supporting no changes to the RDA. 

Critics of the RDA claimed that free speech in Australia is too heavily restricted, whilst those in support of the Act argued that the proposed changes would green light racism across the country

The proposed changes were dropped in August 2014, but came up for debate again in late 2016, with the announcement of the inquiry “Freedom of Speech in Australia”. Submissions closed on 23 December 2016 (read Amnesty’s submission here).

The Committee’s report released on 28 February did not recommend changes to the RDA and specifically said it did not want to license more racism in Australia.

Despite the bipartisan Committee’s decision, the Government proceeded with the Bill and had a Committee hearing about it on Friday 24 March 2017, giving only two working days for people to make submissions.

In an ironic but unsurprising twist, the Committee did not invite any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people or representative bodies to speak at the hearing and specifically excluded the Aboriginal Legal Service, who were ready to speak.

Thankfully, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights rightfully decided not to water down the Racial Discrimination Act.

Why is the RDA important?

Amnesty believes that everyone should be protected from abuse and intimidation based on race or ethnicity. It’s a human right and should be protected under the law.

In its current form, the RDA balances our right to freedom of expression with our right to be protected from racist abuse. If we make it more difficult to make complaints under Section 18C, this balance could be tipped way off. Suddenly, we run the risk of making it okay for someone to verbally attack another person on public transport for race reasons without legal ramifications unless it approaches violence. And for those of you fortunate to have never experienced or witnessed such attacks, watch these videos of a racist attack on an Asian couple on a Sydney bus and a foul-mouthed racist rant on a Melbourne train to see what it looks like.

The government needs to safeguard against making our race hate laws so narrow they scarcely provide protection against racial hatred at all.

Queensland Human Rights Bill a welcome and principled move

Amnesty International applauds the Queensland Government’s reported announcement that this week it will introduce a Human Rights Act for Queensland.

Emma Bull, Advocacy Manager at Amnesty International Australia, said:

“Introducing a Human Rights Act is a welcome and principled move to protect the human rights of all Queenslanders.

“We are delighted the Palaszczuk Government will take this step to create a fairer and more inclusive community, and promote respect for human rights within Queensland society.

“What is really important now is that the bill put forward will incorporate the seven human rights treaties plus the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“We hope this Act will enshrine in law enforceable legal rights and obligations, and help to balance competing human rights through a comprehensive legislative framework.

“The bill should make sure that day-to-day service provision and decision-making recognise the dignity and rights of all people.”

Amnesty International has been campaigning for a Human Rights Act in Queensland for several years.

Australia is the only democratic country not to have a national Human Rights Act, so it is significant that Queensland is now the third State or Territory to take the initiative to protect human rights.

The ACT and Victoria also have similar human rights laws in place, and Amnesty International encourages the Federal Government to put in place a charter to protect human rights across Australia.

Brazil: Toxic speech must not become government policy

Reacting to the election of Jair Bolsonaro and Hamilton Mourão as president and vice president of Brazil, Amnesty International said:

“The president-elect has campaigned with an openly anti-human-rights agenda and frequently made discriminatory statements about different groups of society. His election as Brazil´s president could pose a huge risk to Indigenous Peoples and quilombolas, traditional rural communities, LGBTI people, black youth, women, activists and civil society organizations, if his rhetoric is transformed in public policy” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Bolsonaro’s campaign promises include loosening gun control laws and granting prior authorization for law enforcement officials to kill. These proposals, if adopted, would worse the already dire context of lethal violence in Brazil, where there are 63,000 homicides each year, more than 70% of them from firearms, and police commit approximately 5,000 homicides a year, many of which are indeed extrajudicial executions.

Moreover, he has threatened Indigenous Peoples’ territories, to change land demarcation processes and authorize major natural resource exploitation projects. Likewise, he has also talked about relaxing environmental regulations and criticized Brazil’s environmental protection agencies, thus endangering the right of all people to a healthy environment.

The challenge of protecting human rights.

“With the electoral process now over, we all face the challenge of protecting human rights for everyone in Brazil. Amnesty International will stand alongside social movements, NGOs, activists and all those who defend human rights to ensure that Brazil’s future brings more rights and less repression,” Erika Guevara-Rosas said.

Brazil has one of the highest rates of killings of human rights defenders and activists in the world, with dozens killed every year for defending rights that should be guaranteed by the state. In this grave context, the president-elect’s statements about putting an end to activism and clamping down on organized social movements present a very likely risk to the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly guaranteed by national and international law.

Need to remain vigilant

Bolsonaro and Mourão, who are both members of Brazil’s military reserve, have also publicly defended state crimes committed under the former military regime, including torture. This raises the prospect of a regression in the promotion of human rights, since the end of the military regime and the adoption of the Federal Constitution of 1988.

“Brazil’s public institutions must take firm and decisive action to protect human rights and all those who defend and mobilize for rights in the country. These institutions have a key role to play in protecting the rule of law and preventing the proposals from materializing,” Erika Guevara-Rosas said.

“The international community will remain vigilant in holding the Brazilian state to its obligations to protect and guarantee human rights.”

5 myths about being intersex we need to shatter

Myth 1: Everybody is either born male or female

People often assume that the world is divided neatly into two groups of people, male and female, and that everyone’s biological and genetic characteristics fit into one of these two categories.

But this is not always the case. There are millions of people around the world who have sexual characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Many, though not all, of these people identify as intersex.

Intersex is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural variations that affect genitals, gonads, hormones, chromosomes or reproductive organs. Sometimes these characteristics are visible at birth, sometimes they appear at puberty, and sometimes they are not physically apparent at all.

Myth 2: Being intersex is very rare

According to experts, around 1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits – comparable to the number of people born with red hair.

Despite this, the term intersex is still widely misunderstood, and intersex people are massively underrepresented. This week a leaked memo from the Trump administration suggested that the US government is working towards new definitions of sex and gender, dividing them into “unchangeable” categories of male and female. This would completely deny the existence of transgender and intersex people, with dangerous implications for human rights in the US and beyond.

Myth 3: Being intersex is a condition that needs to be corrected

Many intersex children undergo surgery in an effort to ‘normalise’ them – even though these interventions are often invasive, irreversible, and not performed for emergency reasons.

Although doctors and parents may be well meaning, the reality is that the procedures performed on intersex children can cause major problems, including infertility, pain, incontinence and lifelong psychological suffering. All this just to make children conform to society’s idea of what a girl or a boy ‘should’ look like.

Research by Amnesty International has highlighted how this constitutes a human rights violation. These interventions are often performed on children who are too young to meaningfully participate in decisions about their own bodies, and their parents are often not properly informed about the potential risks.

States have a duty to combat harmful stereotypes about gender and diversity – instead, many choose to subject children to needless operations just to make them “fit”.

Myth 4: Intersex people are transgender

Being intersex has nothing to do with being transgender.

Our physical sexual characteristics have nothing to do with how we consider our gender identity, or with who we are attracted to.

The word “transgender” – or trans – is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. The word “intersex” relates to physical sexual characteristics, and not to an internal sense of identity. An intersex person may also identify as trans, but they are separate things, because gender and sex are separate.

An intersex person may be straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or asexual, and may identify as female, male, both or neither.

Both intersex and trans people have the right to choose their own gender identity, and should never be forced to live with bodies or identities they do not feel comfortable with.

Myth 5: No one is speaking out for intersex people

Although there are still a lot of misconceptions around the meaning of intersex, there are lots of amazing intersex activists around the world who are fighting to raise awareness and protect human rights.

Many of these human rights defenders say they want to make sure that in the future no children experience the suffering they did.

Eves and Charlie, two intersex activists, told Amnesty International about the need for openness and acceptance.

Eves said:

“Society must become more open to all the diversity that being a person means. And children must be able to grow up the way they are.”

Charlie said: “If the topic is not discussed, when there is a de facto veil of silence, it makes it incredibly difficult for people affected to accept themselves and their own body.”

Recently there have been some major steps forward thanks to the tireless campaigning of intersex activists and organizations.

In 2013, intersex activists from 30 organisations came together to draw up the Malta Declaration, highlighting the demands and recommendations of the international intersex movement.

And this year for Intersex Awareness Day, OII-Europe together with IGLYO and EPA have launched a toolkit for parents who want to support intersex children.

There’s still a long way to go, but Amnesty International will keep supporting the fight for intersex people to live free of shame, stigma and pain.

The following can be attributed to Victoria Coy, End Gun Violence campaign manager at Amnesty International USA:

“The horrifying killings of worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue are the latest example of the tragic results of the politics of hate and fear combined with the devastating impact of gun violence.

“We call on leaders at all levels of government to denounce anti-Semitism, white supremacy, bigotry, and discrimination in all its forms and to ensure comprehensive and sensible gun laws that prevent people with violent intentions from obtaining firearms.

“Everyone has the human right to live in safety whether they are in a house of worship, at school, at work, or walking down the street in their neighborhood.

President Trump must abandon plan to close southern border to Central Americans seeking asylum

In response to reports that President Trump plans to take executive action blocking refugees and people seeking asylum from Central America from entering the United States to request protection, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

“The Trump administration is defying international law and manufacturing a crisis at the border by proposing policies that would cause catastrophic and irreparable harm to thousands of families who had no choice but to leave home in order to keep their children safe from harm.”

“President Trump has shown callously disregard for the plight of those making this dangerous journey from Honduras and other Central American countries. His administration must stop waging a deliberate campaign of human rights violations against people seeking safety and immediately recognize that everyone has the right, under US and international law, to seek protection.”

Amnesty International USA executive director Margaret Huang added:

“Banning people from seeking asylum would be a direct violation of national and international law and put lives in danger. It would be the culmination of years of hateful policies criminalizing families seeking protection and would throw desperate people back into harm’s way.”

“The people whose lives are endangered by this unspeakably cruel proposal are simply not national security threats. They are people just like you and me, except many have been forced to run for their lives from violence and persecution. All they are asking for is a chance to seek safety. They deserve our compassion, not our contempt.”

Yesterday, an Amnesty International delegation toured a tent city that has hosted thousands of immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas, including asylum-seeking children. This week, Amnesty International also sent a delegation to observe the caravan of asylum seekers and refugees at the border of Mexico and Guatemala, and document both the response of the authorities in both countries.

“What we witnessed in the Tornillo tent city only highlights the vast tragedy that has already occurred in the United States,” said Huang, who was part of the delegation. “US authorities must act immediately to speed the release of over 1,100 children currently detained there for longer than is legally allowed. We must not continue to fail them by allowing these dangerous proposals to become policy.”

These visits come a few weeks after the launch of the organization’s new report revealing the dangerous human consequences of illegal border pushbacks by the Trump administration, and that the number of families separated at the border is much higher than previously disclosed.

Additionally, Amnesty International is mobilizing its millions of members and supporters around the world to take action, including by engaging online with public comments on proposed regulations that would allow children to be detained indefinitely rather than placing them with relatives or sponsors in the USA.

10 things you need to know about Saudi Arabia

Following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia is in the global spotlight once again.

Turkey’s President Erdogan said he believed the death of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul was a “savage murder”.

But Khashoggi’s killing is just the latest in a long line of violations to add to the Kingdom’s appalling human rights record.

1. Devastating war in Yemen

The body of a victim of an airstrike in Yemen is carried out of the rubble
The body of a victim of an airstrike in Yemen is carried out of the rubble © Khaled Abdullah/REUTERS

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition has contributed significantly to a war that has devastated Yemen for the last three-and-a-half years. Thousands of people have been killed, including children, in the bombing or shelling of hospitals, schools and homes. We have documented repeated human rights violations and war crimes. Despite this, countries including the US, UK and France continue to make lucrative arms deals with the Saudis.

2. Crackdown on activists, journalists and academics

US President Donald Trump holds a defence sales chart with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House on 20 March 2018 in Washington DC.
US President Donald Trump holds a defence sales chart with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House on 20 March 2018 in Washington DC © AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN

Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to power in June 2017, many outspoken activists have been arrested or sentenced to lengthy prison terms simply for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. The authorities have targeted the small but vocal community of human rights defenders, including by using anti-terrorism and anti-cyber crime laws to suppress their activism that aims to expose and address human rights violations.

3. Arrests of women’s rights defenders

Loujain al-Hathloul smiling into the camera. She is wearing a white top and a necklace and the background behind her is blue
Loujain al-Hathloul © Private

Earlier this year, a number of prominent women’s rights defenders were arrested in Saudi Arabia’s ongoing crackdown on the human rights community. Loujain al-Hathloul, Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Yousef have all been held without charge since May. After their arrests, the government launched a chilling smear campaign to discredit them as “traitors”. They may face trial before a counterterror court and risk a lengthy prison sentence.

4. Executions

A hangman's noose on a white background
© Amnesty International

Saudi Arabia consistently ranks as one of the world’s top executioners, with dozens of people being put to death every year – many in gruesome public beheadings. The death penalty violates the right to life and is cruel, inhuman and degrading. There is no evidence anywhere in the world that the death penalty deters crime, yet Saudi Arabia continues to sentence people to death and execute them following grossly unfair trials. So far this year, Saudi Arabia has executed 108 people, almost half of them for drug-related offences.

5. Cruel punishments

A man sits of a patch of grass with his three children: two girls and a boy. All four are smiling for the camera.
Imprisoned Saudi Arabian activist Raif Badawi with his children © Private

Saudi Arabia’s courts continue to impose sentences of flogging as punishment for many offences, often following unfair trials. Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison simply for writing a blog. Amputations and cross-amputations, which invariably constitute torture, are also carried out as punishment for some crimes.

6. Torture in custody

A photo of a man's hands bound behind his back with fraying twine or rope.
© Amnesty International México / Sergio Ortiz Borbolla
Close up shot of a mans hands tied up with thin rope or string. An anonymous man has his hands bound and tied up.

Former detainees, trial defendants and others have told us that the security forces’ use of torture and other ill-treatment remains common and widespread and that those responsible are never brought to justice.

7. Systematic discrimination against women

A Saudi Arabian woman taking the wheel in support of the #women2drive initiative in Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi woman driving © Private

Women and girls still face entrenched discrimination in Saudi Arabia and are legally subordinate to men in relation to marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance and other aspects. Under the guardianship system, a woman cannot make decisions on their own; instead, a male relative must decide everything on her behalf.

8. Religious discrimination

A young man from Saudi Arabia smiles at the camera. He's wearing a checked shirt and a hoodie. A city can be seen in the background.
Ali al-Nimr was sentenced to death on 27 May 2014 for crimes which he was accused of committing when he was 17 years old © Private

Members of the Kingdom’s Shi’a minority continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Scores of Shi’a activists have been sentenced to death or long prison terms for their alleged participation in anti-government protests in 2011 and 2012.

9. What happens in the Kingdom, stays in the Kingdom

Close up photo of the lower half of a woman's face. She is holding her finger in front of her mouth.
© PXHere

The Saudi Arabian authorities have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against peaceful activists and family members of victims who contact independent human rights organisations, such as Amnesty International, or foreign diplomats and journalists.

10. Jamal Khashoggi’s murder

Protestors hold pictures of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a demonstration in front of the Saudi Arabian consulate on 8 October 2018.
Jamal Khashoggi © OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images

Following Jamal Khashoggi’s horrific killing, we are calling for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a UN independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi’s execution, possible torture and any other crimes and violations committed in his case.

 

Singapore: stop imminent hangings, end wave of executions

Singaporean authorities must halt the imminent executions of Prabu N Pathmanathan, a 31-year-old Malaysian national, and of another man whose name has not been released, Amnesty International said today. Both prisoners were sentenced to the death penalty on drug-related convictions in separate cases.

Pathmanathan’s family were informed last week of his scheduled execution for Friday 26 October. He was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty after he was found in possession of diamorphine. Another man is also reported to be executed this Friday, also on drug convictions.

News of these planned executions follow the reported execution of another man today, and that of three men, on 5 October, also for drug-related offences. The use of the death penalty and its imposition for drug-related offences contravene international law and standards.

“Singapore authorities must immediately halt plans to kill these men and put a stop to this recent wave of callous executions”, said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty International’s Singapore Researcher.

“It is time for Singapore to re-establish its moratorium on the death penalty and follow the government of Malaysia’s example, who have suspended all executions and announced plans to abolish the use of this cruel punishment for all crimes.”

“The fact Prabu Pathmanathan’s family in Malaysia received news of his impending execution –  all while their own government have just resolved to end this abhorrent practice – makes this case even more troubling”, she added. “This cruel and irreversible punishment has no place in any society, as more than two-thirds of the world’s countries have come to recognize.”

Amnesty International is aware of six executions carried out in Singapore this year, all for drug offences. The authorities of Singapore carried out eight executions in 2017, also for drug offences, but details of all the executions were not publicly available.