Two brothers on death row hanged today

PETALING JAYA: Brothers Rames and Suthar Batumalai, who were sentenced to death in April 2010 for murder, were hanged in the wee hours of today.
Amnesty International Malaysia, in condemning the double execution, said they were carried out despite a pending clemency application to have their case reconsidered.
“International law clearly states that executions may not be carried out pending any appeal or other proceeding relating to pardon or commutation of the sentence,” its executive director Shamini Darshni said in a statement.
She said the capital punishment was also carried out two days ahead of their initial scheduled execution on Friday, with family members only informed of date change on March 14, less than 24 hours before the men would face the noose.
“It is simply cruel that the family of the prisoners were told to prepare for executions this Friday, only to find out with less than 24 hours’ notice that they were given wrong information about the date of the execution.
“With the clemency appeal still pending, the brothers were denied of their opportunity to have their case reconsidered and have their clemency applications heard,” she said.
Shamini pointed that the new application for clemency was filed by their lawyer on Feb 23, and that the executions, which were initially scheduled for Feb 24 and halted at the last hour, were set again for March 17, before being forwarded to March 15.
Rames, 45, and Suthar, 40, were sentenced to death in April 2010 under Section 302 of the Penal Code after being found guilty of murdering Krishnan Raman on Feb 4, 2006. The two have maintained their innocence.
Describing the case as deeply troubling, Shamini said the brothers should have been granted the opportunity to have their applications heard and the executions should have been halted until the full and fair hearing of this application.
“Executions continue to be carried out in secretive and opaque conditions. Malaysia must stop back-pedalling on human rights and start protecting them by halting all executions and moving to abolish the death penalty,” she added.