Fourth Execution in Three Weeks: Singapore Hangs Man for Drug Trafficking

News Desk

Islamabad: Singapore executed a 35-year-old Singaporean-Iranian man, Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad, on Friday for drug trafficking, marking the fourth execution in less than a month. Despite appeals from Tehran to halt the execution, the sentence was carried out.

Masoud, who was born in Singapore to a Singaporean mother and an Iranian father, had been convicted in 2013 for trafficking in heroin.

The execution followed multiple unsuccessful appeals, including petitions for clemency from the president and an 11th-hour appeal that was rejected by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, had urged his Singaporean counterpart to reconsider, citing humanitarian concerns.

However, Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) confirmed that the death sentence was carried out on November 29, 2024, after Masoud was found to be in possession of over 31 grams of diamorphine, exceeding the 15-gram threshold for the death penalty under Singapore’s strict drug laws.

This execution is part of a series of recent deaths in Singapore, with three others hanged earlier this month—Rosman Abdullah on November 22, and two men, a 39-year-old Malaysian and a 53-year-old Singaporean, on November 15. This brings the total number of executions in Singapore to nine in 2024, eight of which were for drug trafficking.

Since resuming executions in March 2022, after a two-year pause during the pandemic, Singapore has executed 25 people, drawing continued criticism from human rights groups and the United Nations, which have called for the abolition of the death penalty, citing its lack of proven deterrent effect.

However, Singaporean officials maintain that capital punishment is crucial for maintaining public safety in the country.