URGENT: Nguyen Tuong Van

Nguyen has lost his plea for clemency and will be executed some time in the next 10 days.

We MUST do something. We should try and coordinate protest actions around Australia and the Globe. When should we do it and how are we gonna arrange this?

Here's the latest from the Age and news ltd:

Death row Australian loses clemency bid

By Staff reporters, the Age

October 21, 2005 - 3:53PM

A plea for presidential clemency for Melbourne man Nguyen Tuong Van has been turned down in Singapore.

Nguyen was caught in Singapore trying to smuggle almost 400 grams of heroin from Cambodia to Australia three years ago.

The Australian Government had appealed for clemency for Nguyen, who has been on death row in Changi prison since being sentenced in March last year.

He now faces execution, possibly within 10 days.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia had done it's utmost to save Nguyen's life.

"We are very sad that this has happened," Mr Downer said.

"We have done our best, we have done everything we can to save his life."

Nguyen's Australian lawyers described the decision as "devastating for him, his family and friends".

Lex Lasry QC said Nguyen had always admitted his guilt and given constructive help to authorities including the Australian Federal Police.

"The decision appears to pay no heed to the provisions of the Singapore Constitution that make specific reference and provide for clemency to those who assist the authorities with information which can be used to prosecute others," he said.

Mr Lasry called on the Singapore Government to reverse its decision.

Nguyen was sentenced to death last year after being found guilty by a Singapore court of smuggling almost 400 grams of heroin from Cambodia via Singapore.

He was found to have 396 grams of heroin strapped to his back and also in his hand luggage.

Nguyen said he had the drugs because he was trying to raise money to clear debts incurred by his twin brother.

Mr Downer said Australia had pleaded for clemency via Prime Minister John Howard, Governor General Michael Jeffery and himself.

Nguyen is set to become the fourth Australian sentenced to death by Asian countries on drug charges, following the hanging of Brian Chambers and Kevin Barlow in Malaysia in 1986.

In a lesser-known case, Queenslander Michael McAuliffe died by hanging in Malaysia in June 1993 after serving eight years in jail.

In Singapore, the death sentence is mandatory for drug smuggling and more than 400 people have been executed there in the past 10 years.

Australia's Council for Civil Liberties says Singapore executes more people per capita than any other country in the world.

Two other Australians are currently facing the death penalty after being convicted of heroin-related charges - both in Vietnam.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd called on the Singaporean cabinet to reconsider its position.

"Singapore law provides for mercy to be sought and we strongly believe that mercy should be applied in the case of this young Australian," he said in a statement.

"We appeal to the individual members of the Singaporean cabinet to find it in their hearts to save this man's life.

"While drug trafficking is a very serious crime and we respect Singapore's right to protect its citizens from such crimes, we do not believe that putting a young man to death in these circumstances serves any purpose."

Mr Rudd expressed his sympathy to Nguyen's family.

"This is a truly tragic case and our hearts go out to this young Australian and his poor mother in Melbourne," he said.

"We will do everything in our power to ask the Singaporean government to reconsider this decision."

Nguyen's mother fled Vietnam alone in a boat in 1980 and had her twin sons in a transit camp in Malaysia before being accepted into Australia four months later.

- with AAP



Australian drug runner faces death
From: AAP courtesy of news ltd.

October 21, 2005

A MELBOURNE sales executive is facing execution in Singapore after the failure of Australian pleas for clemency, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.
The Australian Government had appealed for clemency for Melbourne man Nguyen Tuong Van, who has been on death row in Changi prison since March last year.

Nguyen was sentenced to death last year after being found guilty by a Singapore court of smuggling almost 400 grams of heroin from Cambodia via Singapore.

He was caught in transit at Singapore's Changi airport in December 2002 while on his way from Cambodia to Melbourne.

Nguyen was found to have 396 grams of heroin strapped to his back and also in his hand luggage.

Mr Downer said today Australia had failed to stop Singapore enforcing the death penalty on Nguyen, who said he had the drugs because he was trying to raise money to clear debts incurred by his twin brother.

"We are very sad that this has happened," Mr Downer said.

"We have done our best, we have done everything we can to save his life."

Nguyen, 25, was expected to be executed in the near future, Mr Downer said.

"(He) will be hanged as a result of this decision," Mr Downer said.

"There is no further appeal, this is the end of the processes of appeal.

"The execution is expected to be carried out fairly quickly which is the custom in Singapore."

Mr Downer said there was no question Singapore had followed due process.

"Singapore does have a mandatory death sentence for trafficking in heroin and they are applying it," he said.

"I'm afraid it doesn't come as a great surprise to us, I have been pessimistic about this case for a long time."

Mr Downer said Australia had pleaded for clemency via Prime Minister John Howard, Governor General Michael Jeffery and himself.

Nguyen is set to become the fourth Australian sentenced to death by Asian countries on drug charges, following the hanging of Brian Chambers and Kevin Barlow in Malaysia in 1986.

In a lesser-known case, Queenslander Michael McAuliffe died by hanging in Malaysia in June 1993 after serving eight years in jail.

In Singapore, the death sentence is mandatory for drug smuggling and more than 400 people have been executed there in the past 10 years.

Australia's Council for Civil Liberties said Singapore executes more people per capita than any other country in the world.

Two other Australians are currently facing the death penalty after being convicted of heroin-related charges – both in Vietnam.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd called on the Singaporean cabinet to reconsider its position.

"Singapore law provides for mercy to be sought and we strongly believe that mercy should be applied in the case of this young Australian," he said.

"We appeal to the individual members of the Singaporean cabinet to find it in their hearts to save this man's life.

"While drug trafficking is a very serious crime and we respect Singapore's right to protect its citizens from such crimes, we do not believe that putting a young man to death in these circumstances serves any purpose."

Mr Rudd expressed his sympathy to Nguyen's family.

"This is a truly tragic case and our hearts go out to this young Australian and his poor mother in Melbourne," he said.

"We will do everything in our power to ask the Singaporean Government to reconsider this decision."

Nguyen's mother fled Vietnam alone in a boat in 1980 and had her twin sons in a transit camp in Malaysia before being accepted into Australia four months later.

Nguyen's Melbourne-based lawyer, Lex Lasry, said he was "appalled" by the news.

Nguyen's Australian legal team, Mr Lasry and lawyers Julian McMahon and Joseph Theseira, issued a statement deploring the imminent execution.

"The news that the Singapore Government intends to hang our client, Van Nguyen, is devastating for him, his family and friends and for anyone who values humane treatment of their fellow human beings," they said.

"Death by hanging is hideous. Further, it is grossly out of proportion to the crime committed.

"The mandatory nature of the execution represents a gross unfairness to our client and all others who have never been given the chance to say to a judge why such a final penalty should not be applied to them."

They said the decision was especially unfair considering their client's admissions and assistance to authorities.

"Our client has always admitted his guilt and given constructive help to authorities including the Australian Federal Police.

"The decision appears to pay no heed to the provisions of the Singapore Constitution that make specific reference and provide for clemency to those who assist the authorities with information which can be used to prosecute others.

"The only people who will take comfort from this result will be those who exploited Van for their own purposes to profit from drug trafficking and who now know that with the death of our client their criminal conspiracy will go unpunished.

"We call on the Singapore government to reverse this decision.

"We make this call in the name of fairness and justice.

"The rule of law in Singapore and the effectiveness of the constitution will be diminished by the execution of Van Nguyen."